UC-NRLF 


e   H   S^B   fiSl  h^MJf  '*--  ii     *^^ 


REPORT     OF 


Charles  Mulford  Robinson 


Jfnrl  iiagn^  (Hunt  ilm^niurm^nt 
Aaanrtattnu 


PRESS    OF 

Fort  Wayne   Printing  Compani 
fcrt   wayne.    ind 


F 


OFFICERS    AND    EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 


3^ort   Mayttr    (Etwir   ilmprotirmpnt   Assoriattntt 


Charles  H.  Worden.  president 

Dr.  L.  Park  Drayer.  vice-President 

Robert  B.  Hanna,  secretary 

William  H.  Scheiman.  treasurer 
Rabbi   H.  F.  Ettelson  Samuel  M.  Foster 

William  E.  Mobsman  Louis  D.  Redding 

Louis  Fox 


227772 


i 

rST  as  an  artist  is  al)le  to  ('i-eate 
a  plan  of  a  chureli  or  palace 
that  is  perfectly  adapted  to 
its  i)iu-poses ;  just  as,  in  sueh 
cases,  it  is  liis  task  to  work 
with  a  conscientious  regard 
for  all  the  demands  imposed 
hy  necessity—  so  artistic  city 
planning  is  to  be  understood 
as  that  wliicli  does  not  work 
according  to  systems,  but 
according  to  the  specific  (-on- 
ditions  of  the  case  in  hand. 
Not  art  alone,  but  the  appropriate  development  of  all  the 
possible  advantages,  with  due  regard  to  the  specific-  pi-ohleui, 
is  the  aim.  The  artistically  creative  city  planner  should 
seek  out  all  peculiarities  of  the  site,  and  emphasize  them 
according  to  their  individuality." 


"Qerman   City  Planning,"  by  Cornelius  Gurlilt. 


CONTENTS 


Page 
Introduction      ------  *.* 

The  Problem  -  -  -  -  -  -11 

The  Business  Streets      -----  15 

The  Official  Quarter  -----      3(5 

Approaches  to  the  New  Station  -  -  -  40 

An  Industrial  District         -  -  -  -  -       48 

Public  ^iarket   ------  55 

Residence  Streets     -  -  -  -  -  -       58 

Improvement  of  the  Parks       -  -  -  -  <38 

River  Drive  and  Parkway  System  -  -  -       0(1 

Conclusion  -  -  -  -  -  -  121 


ALL  FOR  C3IME  A^D 

OI\E  FOR  ALL 
SLOGAN 

CIVIC  REVIVAL 

JUNE  2  TO  6    09 
WHiT  ISUIVIC  REVIViL 


ilntro&iutiun. 


To  the  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association, 
Fort  Wayne,  Indiana. 


Gentlemen  : 

Considered  abstractly,  the  civic  improvement  problem 
which  is  presented  by  Fort  Wayne  is  exceedingly  interesting. 
This  is  for  three  special  reasons  : 

It  has  the  interest,  first,  of  being  representative  of  a  group 
of  problems,  for  Fort  Wayne  is  typical  of  a  large  number  of 
industrial  cities  that  require  readjustment.  The  population  of 
these  cities  is  hard  working  and,  in  the  aggregate,  large.  To 
add  to  the  beauty  of  one  such  city,  to  the  opportunities  it  of- 
fers for  healthful  exercise  out-of-doors ;  to  make  it  in  every 
way  a  better  place  to  live  in  without  unreasonable  municipal  ex- 
penditure, could  not  fail  to  be  helpfully  suggestive  to  other 
similar  cities  and  hence  to  perform  a  great  social  and  econo- 
mic service — social,  because  one  would  thus  be  brightening 
many  lives ;  economic,  because  the  result  would  be  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  labor  and  to  bring  in  and  hold  a  high  class 
of  labor.  The  probability  of  this  double  service  is  the  second 
reason  why  the  proffered  problem  appeals.  Third,  it  is  inter- 
esting because  the  conditions  surrounding  its  presentation 
were  so  unusual,  the  "Civic  Revival"  having  been,  in  itself 
and  in  its  effects,  a  remarkable  movement. 

Without  reference,  therefore,  to  the  local  topographical 
conditions,  the  problem  demands  one's  best  study.  Because 
those  conditions  lia])])en  to  prove  exceptionally  favorable,  the 
problem  in  concrete  consideration  becomes  the  more  absorb- 
ing. 

As  a  result  of  mv  slnd\',  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the 
following"  conclusions,  recommendations,  and  suggestions: 


HE    PROBLEM 


Fort  Wiiyiic  has  had  no 
niushi'oom  growth.  It  is  coiri- 
paratively  an  ohl  city,  as  cities 
U'o  in  the  Middle  West,  and 
yet  its  popuhition  now  is  only 
abont  6-"),000.  It  is  an  ini- 
poi-tant  raili-oad  center,  and 
the  traffic  facilities  thns  oifer- 
cd,  its  pr*)xiniity  to  lai-geniai-- 
kets,  and  its  location  in  a  ri(^h 
trilnitary  farming-  conn  try 
liave  united  to  canse  a  con- 
sistently continnons  groAvth, 
and  to  determine  lieyond  (piestion  the  city's  character,  present 
and  fnture,  as  a  mannfactnriiig  and  trading  eommnnity. 

The  gradualness  of  the  increase  in  population  must  have 
presented,  one  might  think,  ideal  opportunities  for  municipal 
improvement.  On  the  contrary,  the  very  lack  of  spectacular 
hooms  to  shock  the  civic  consciousness  into  a  realization  of 
tendencies  and  destiny,  has  invited,  heretofore,  a  degree  of 
lethargy  and  procrastination.  The  streets  are  well  paved, 
good  sidewalks  have  recently  been  laid,  the  pavements  are 
reasonably  clean  ;  but  there  has  been  little  evidence  of  civic 
imagination.  The  community  has  now  realized  suddenly  that 
a  future,  long  permitted  to  look  out  for  itself,  has  at  last  ar- 
rived ;  that  narrow  streets  are  getting  unduly  congested,  that 
high  buildings  have  gone  up  on  sites  that  it  might  have  been 
civic  wisdom  to  keep  open  ;  that  the  beautiful  rivers  have  be- 
come dumping  grounds  ;  that  in  the  building  up  of  vacant  lots, 
the  children  have  lost  their  play  space.  It  has  paused,  taking 
account  of  these  conditions,  to  learn  what  it  can  yet  do  to 
correct  the  omissions  of  the  past  and  to  prepare  for  the  as- 
sured future.  Thus  is  the  problem  concerned  largely,  but  not 
alone,  with  the  present  needs  of  Fort  Wayne.  It  is,  How  can 
the  present  city  better  adjust  itself  to  the  requirements  of  that 


12 


Purl  U'ayiic  Cii'ic  hiiprirc'ciiicnt  AssDciatioii 


business  and  ])o])nlati()n  wliicli,  in  a  now  immiiKMit   fuUire.  lie 
before  it  ? 

Topogra])hioally,  tlic  cit\-  is  situated  on  a  i)lain.  'i"he 
main  lines  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  W'abasli  railroads,  euttinji^ 
a  broad  swath  through  the  city,  practically  bisect  it.  The  St. 
Mary's  River  flows  north  along"  its  western  edge,  until,  about 
opposite  the  center  of  the  city,  it  turns  northeastward  and  then 
cast,  to  meet  the  St.  Joseph,  which  comes  out  of  the  north. 
The  two  form  the  IMaumee,  and  flow  eastward  along  what 
presently  becomes  tlie  northern  bomidary  of  the  city.  So  the 
city  has  rivers  on  two  sides. 


Railroads,  Business  Sireels  (shaded)  and  Rivers  of  Fori   Wayne— The  City's  Determining  Lines. 


Fort  IVayiic  Civic  Jmprovcmoit  .Issociatioii  13 

The  meandering's  of  these  streams  have  influenced  the 
street  system  less  than  might  have  been  expected.  Perhaps 
this  is  because  the  g-eneral  north  and  east  direction  of  their 
flcnv  is  so  nearly  in  harmony  with  a  compass-laid  parallelogram 
of  streets.  For  example,  the  angle  of  divergence  between 
such  streets  as  Jefiferson,  that  parallel  the  general  course  of  the 
eastward  flowing  rivers,  and  those  which,  in  greater  number, 
parallel  Lewis,  is  very  slight. 

The  business  of  the  city  has  long  been  done  on  Calhoun 
Street,  between  the  Nickel  Plate  road,  which  skirts  the  river, 
and  the  Pennsylvania  and  Wabash  railroads — a  distance  of 
three-quarters  of  a  mile.  Necessarily  business  is  now  extend- 
ing laterally  from  Calhoun  Street.  As  yet  such  extension  is 
principally  on  Main  and  Berry  Streets,  between  which,  on  the 
east  side  of  Calhoun  Street,  is  the  Court  House,  occupying  a 
whole  block  and  of  itself  creating  a  centc*.  The  space  between 
the  railroads  is  the  oldest  section  of  the  city,  and  Calhoun 
Street,  the  main  business  artery,  has  a  width  of  only  sixty 
feet,  from  property  line  to  property  line. 

It  remains  to  be  stated  that  agreement  has  now  been 
reached  with  the  Pennsylvania  and  Wabash  railroads  for  the 
abolition  of  the  grade  crossing  at  Calhoun  Street  by  an  eleva- 
tion of  the  tracks,  and  that,  as  a  part  of  this  work,  a  new 
passenger  station  is  anticipated  ;  that  there  have  been  accjuired 
some  tracts  of  land  for  parks,  well  distributed  along  the  outer 
fringe  of  the  built-up  section  of  the  city;  and  that  the  only 
public  building  now  under  consideration,  unless  market  sheds 
be  so  counted,  is  a  Convention  Hall. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  report  now  prepared  on  the  possibil- 
ities and  duties  of  such  a  city  as  has  been  described  must  be 
largely  general  in  character.  The  report  will  point  out  the 
municipality's  opportunities  and  needs  as  definitely  as  possible, 
but  it  will  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  reserve  the  detailed  plan- 
ning until  the  plans  can  be  immediately  carried  out.  In  sub- 
mitting my  suggestions  it  has  seemed  well  to  group  them  under 
the  following  heads : 


14  Port  JWiyiic  Civic  Inipro^'ciitcnf  dissociation 

1.  The  Business  Streets. 

2.  The  Official  Quarter. 

3.  Approaches  to  the  New  Station. 

4.  An  Industrial  District. 

5.  Public  Market. 

6.  Residence  Streets. 

7.  Improvement  of  the  Parks. 

8.  River  Drive  and  Parkway  System. 


Fort  JJ'ayiw  Civic  Tniproi'cmcnt  Associafioi 


T5 


The  Business  Streets. 


The  first  and  most  obvious  need  of  Fort  Wayne's  busi- 
ness district,  in  providing  for  the  future,  is  the  difficult  one 
of  finding  a  way  to  increase  the  street  capacity.  Fort  Wayne 
is  so  compactly  built  that  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  attempt 
any  general  widening  of  streets.  Therefore,  to  clear  the  walks 
as  far  as  possible  of  obstructions ;  to  accelerate  traffic  in  the 
roadways,  and  to  develop  the  convenience  of  parallel  streets,  is 
nearly  all  we  can  hope  to  do.  These  things,  however,  count 
for  a  good  deal.    Let  us  consider  what  they  involve. 

First,  the  sidewalks  should  be  smooth  and  easy  to  walk 
on.  There  is  a  great  persistence  in  Fort  Wayne  of  the  old- 
fashioned  cellar  traps  that  project  above  the  walk,  inviting 
tripping  and  shunned  by  everyone  who  can  possibly  go  around 
them.  Cellar  traps  should  be  required  to  present  an  even  sur- 
face with  the  walk.     Second,  the  essential  street  furnishings 


i6  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

must  be  reduced  to  a  niiniiuum.  In  this  respect  necessity  has 
made  Fort  Wayne,  in  its  business  portions,  better  than  most 
cities.  Hut  there  is  still  room  for  improvement,  for  the  ideal 
would  rid  the  streets  of  all  teleg"ra])h  and  telejjhone  poles — some 
portions  of  the  business  streets  are  already  freed  from  them, 
in  earnest  of  what  all  may  be ;  and  such  poles  as  must  persist, 
as  trolley  poles,  would  be  made  to  perform  the  greatest  possi- 
ble service.  They  may  carry  the  street  lights — as  in  Denver, 
and  the  street  name  signs ;  the  letter  boxes,  as  they  do ;  and  the 
fire  boxes,  as  they  now  do  not.  There  should  be  no  excuse  for 
other  posts.  As  to  putting  the  street  lights  on  the  trolley 
poles,  an  interesting  agreement  on  this  subject  was  drawn  up 
a  few  weeks  ago,  in  the  neighboring  city  of  Indianapolis,  be- 
tween the  City,  the  Light  and  Heat  Company,  and  the  Traction 
and  Terminal  Company.  Under  this  agreement  the  Traction 
Company  was  required  to  replace  its  light-weight  poles,  in  a 
certain  specified  district,  with  heavier  i)oles,  the  Light  Com- 
pany furnishing  the  brackets  and  lamps  in  round  glass  globes, 
and  the  city  paying  for  the  current. 

Third,  the  walk  should  be  cleared  al)solutely  of  advertise- 
ments, this  including  barber  ];)oles.  In  many  cities  the  streets 
have  been  thus  freed  by  the  voluntary  action  of  the  merchants, 
acting  through  the  Board  of  Trade  or  other  organization  of 
their  own.  But  a  city  ordinance  will  cover  the  point.  Finally, 
sidewalk-encroaching  show  cases  for  the  display  of  goods 
should  be  prohibited.  It  is  better  for  a  merchant  to  have  the 
sidewalk  full  of  people  than  to  have  a  portion  of  it  so  clut- 
tered with  the  signs,  counters,  bicycle  racks  or  show  cases  of 
his  rivals  that  when  practicable  pedestrians  take  another  street. 
Yet  every  merchant  who  countenances  sidewalk  obstruction 
chooses  a  walk  of  things  instead  of  a  walk  of  people.  A 
twelve-foot  walk — that  is  the  width,  for  instance,  on  Calhoun 
Street — will  accommodate  a  great  many  pedestrians,  if  it  is 
really  twelve,  and  not  nine  or  ten.  I  found  it  reduced  in  this 
way  to  ten  feet  very  often  on  Calhoun  Street. 


Scene  on  Berry  Street,  just  west  of  Calhoun. 

The  slreet  should  be  cleared  absolutely  of  advertisements.     A  twelve-foot  v^-alk  will  accommodate 
a  great  many  persons  if  it  be  really  twelve,  and  not  reduced  by  advertisements,  etc.,  to  ten. 


i8  Furt  JVayne  Civic  Iiii[>rovc)iieiif  Assuciatiuii 

As  a  rule,  few  articles,  except  photographs  in  wall  cases 
and  food  stuffs  on  stands,  arc  exposed,  either  for  display  or  sale, 
outside  of  stores.  The  latter  are  just  the  articles  which  the 
dirt  and  dust  of  the  street  so  injure  that  in  some  cities  their 
exposure  on  the  walks  is  i)r()hihited  on  sanitary  grounds.  With 
the  walks  cleared,  to  serve  fully  the  ])rimary  purpose  for  which 
they  exist,  they  will  accommodate  a  good  many  more  persons 
than  they  now  do. 

The  acceleration  of  traffic  in  the  roadways  can  he  accom- 
plished through  several  measures.  Good  pavement  kept  in  re- 
pair is  the  first  need.  Then  the  car  tracks  should  have  grooved 
rails,  laid  exactly  flush  with  the  pavement  so  as  to  offer  no 
impediment,  instead  of  the  present  T-rails.  This  is  one  of  the 
changes  that  will  not  he  accomplished  right  away;  hut  if  there 
he  requirement  that  any  new,  or  replacing,  rails  laid  in  the 
business  section  shall  conform  to  this  character,  the  change 
will  be  soon  brought  about  without  hardship.  Then  the  whole 
width  of  the  road  will  be  available.  An  increased  radius  in 
the  curb-curve  at  street  corners — it  may  be  made  nine  to  twelve 
feet — will  facilitate  the  turning  of  traffic  from  one  street  into 
another — a  change  that  will  not  only  count  for  much  in  the 
movement  of  traffic,  but  that  will  confer  large  aesthetic  im- 
provement. A  long  curve  fits  harmoniously  into  the  street 
lines,  and  it  does  not  get  battered  as  does  a  short  curve. 

With  the  admirable  alley  system  of  Fort  \\'ayne,  there 
may  reasonably  be  requirement,  further,  that  no  loading  or 
unloading  shall  take  place  in  the  business  streets,  at  least 
within  certain  hours ;  and  within  those  hours  heavy  teaming 
may  be  asked  to  take  the  side,  or  parallel,  streets.  ]\Iost  of  the 
larger  cities  have  now  adopted  traffic  regulations,  and  these 
mav  be  asked  to  take  the  side,  or  parallel,  streets.  Most  of  the 
population  is  so  balanced  by  narrower  thoroughfares,  that  the 
street  congestion  will  soon  be  not  dissimilar  to  that  in  great 
cities.  It  is  to  be  recognized  in  this  connection  that  the  bulk  of 
vehicular  traffic  in  Fort  Wayne  moves  in  a  north  and  south 
direction  ;  and  that  owing  to  the  barriers  imposed  by  the  river 


Fort  JFoyiic  Civic  Iiiiprovcineiif  Association 


19 


Fori  Wayne's  crowded  business  streets. 


20  Purl  Wayne  Ch'ic  fin f^roi'ciiiciit  Association 

on  one  side  and  1)\-  the  raiIroad^  on  the  other — and  the  latter 
barrier  will  not  be  removed  by  a  long  snbway  under  elevated 
tracks — all  the  general  business  of  the  growing  city  is  bound  to 
be  transacted  in  the  short  intervening  space.  Into  this  little  area, 
not  only  does  all  the  surrounding  cit\- ])our  its  business,  but  all 
the  steam  railroads  and  tlie  interurl)an  trolleys  deposit  their 
loads.  The  result,  during  l)usiness  liours.  is  sure  to  be  crowded 
streets,  and  every  heavily  loaded  truck  that  by  slow  movement 
liolds  up  traffic  there  will  take  tribute  of  l)usiness  in  a  consid- 
eral)le  lu>s  of  precious  time.  It  need  hardl_\-  be  added  that  to 
re(|uire  heavv  teaiuing  to  use  side  streets  in  busy  hours  imix)ses 
an  oliligation  to  have  on  those  streets  smooth  pavements  that 
are  in  good  rei)air. 

\\"\{h  the  elevation  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Wabash 
tracks,  it  is  proposed  b_\-  the  railroads  to  erect  a  tine  Union 
vStation  on  the  north  side  of  the  tracks  at  Calhoun  Street.  And 
Calhoun  Street,  with  its  thirty-six  foot  road  and  crowded 
walks,  is  already  carrying  about  all  the  traffic  it  can  bear.  To 
get  the  street  widened,  without  expense,  even  from  the  tracks 
to  the  bend  at  Lewis  street,  would  seem  almost  too  good  t^  be 
true,  and  yet  it  may  be  possible.  On  the  east  side  of  the  sticet. 
between  those  points,  the  structures  are  old  and  low.  so  in- 
adequate to  the  demand  which  is  sure  in  a  few  years  to  arise 
for  accommodations  here,  that  every  one  of  them  is  certain  to 
be  replaced.  A  great  deal  of  the  new  construction  will  come 
ioon.  'i'o  this  condition  is  to  be  added  the  fact  that  the  lots 
are,  as  throughout  I'ort  Wayne,  very  deep. 

Now  in  riiiladelphia  a  similar  situation  arose  years  ago 
witli  reference  to  Chestmit.  Walnut  and  .\rch  Streets.  The 
traffic  that  poured  upon  them  became  too  great  for  their  width, 
and  it  was  seen  that  they  luust  be  widened.  Yet  to  have  done 
this  all  at  once,  in  any  of  the  three  cases,  would  not  only  have 
paralyzed  business  on  one  of  the  i)rincipal  streets  of  the  city. 


Fort  H'dyiic  Ck'ic  Iiiiprovcutciit  Association  21 

but,  as  here,  would  have  been  too  expensive  a  proposition  for  the 
city  to  consider.  Accordingly  there  was  passed  an  ordinance — 
in  1884  for  Chestnut  Street,  and  in  1894  for  Walnut  Street,  the 
dates  being-  important  as  showing  that  it  has  now  had  oppor- 
tunity to  stand  the  test  of  time  and  of  many  actions — authoriz- 
ing the  Department  of  Surveys,  which  in  Fort  Wayne  would 
doubtless  be  the  City  Engineer's  Office  "to  revise  the  City 
Plan"  so  as  to  widen  the  street  in  question  to  a  certain  specified 
width — as,  for  example,  seventy-two  feet  for  Arch  Street. 
The  second  section  of  these  ordinances  reads :  "After  the  con- 
firmation and  establishment  of  said  lines,  it  shall  not  be  lawful 
for  any  owner  or  builder  to  erect  any  new  building,  or  to  re- 
build or  alter  the  front,  or  add  to  the  height  of  any  building 
now  erected,  without  making  it  recede  so  as  to  conform  to  the 
line  established."  With  such  an  ordinance  applying  to  this 
portion  of  Calhoun  Street,  especially  if  its  provisions  were 
strengthened  by  an  ordinance  requiring  that  building  height 
should  bear  a  certain  relation  to  the  width  of  the  street  faced, 
how  long  would  it  be,  with  the  vigorous  rebuilding  which  is 
certain  to  be  soon  undertaken  there,  before  Calhoun  Street, 
from  the  tracks  to  Lewis,  was  widened  the  designated  number 
of  feet  ? 

I  have  investigated,  for  its  bearing  on  the  Fort  Wayne 
situation,  the  result  attending  the  operation  of  the  Philadelphia 
enactment.  For  illustration  we  may  take  Chestnut  Street  be- 
tween Eighth  and  Sixteenth,  as  its  frontage  is  the  most  val- 
uable business  property  afifected.  In  this  distance  approxi- 
mately one  hundred  and  fifty  structures  have  been  changed  and 
in  the  process  set  back  in  accordance  with  the  ordinance.  In 
actions  brought  for  damages,  the  city  has  contended  that  where 
a  building  lot  still  has  more  than  one  hundred  feet  in  depth 
after  the  widening  takes  place,  and  where  it  has  frontage  not 
only  on  the  widened  street  but  on  a  rear  street  or  alley,  there 
is  no  damage  occasioned;  that  is  to  say,  a  property  20x110  or 


22  Fort  JVayiic  Civic  J})iprovcuicnl  dissociation 

more  feet  on  a  sixty  foot  street,  with  a  rear  entrance,  is,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  real  estate  exi)erts  called  by  the  city  of  Pliihulel- 
phia  to  testify  in  these  actions,  of  the  same,  if  not  of  greater 
value  than  a  property  of  five  feet  more  depth  on  a  street  cor- 
respondingly narrower.* 

This  Philadelphia  method  seems  therefore  to  suggest  a 
reasonable  way  for  promptly  widening  that  portion  of  Cal- 
houn Street,  in  Fort  Wayne,  wliicli  is  between  the  railroad  and 
Lewis  Street,  at  little  or  no  expense.  In  Fort  Wayne  there 
might  be  advantage  in  putting  all  the  widening  on  to  the  east 
side  of  the  street,  since  that  side,  being  now  the  least  well  de- 
veloped, is  likely  to  be  soonest  rebuilt,  and  since  to  w^iden  im 
that  side  would  open  to  view,  as  an  architectural  accent,  the 
tower  of  Cathedral  Hall  and  would  be  to  make  available  for 
furthering-  the  work  the  space  left  open  before  the  Hall  and 
the  Cathedral.  This  would  carry  the  widening  in  reality  to 
Jefiferson  Street.  If,  by  apportioning  to  the  west  side  such  con- 
struction costs  as  may  be  incurred,  since  otherwise  it  would 
have  the  benefit  of  the  widening  without  payment,  there  can 
be  framed  an  ordinance  that  will  be  equally  fair  to  both  sides, 
my  preference  would  therefore  be  to  see  Calhoun  Street,  from 
the  railroad  to  Jefiferson,  widened  on  its  east  side  by  at  least 
ten  feet. 


*Francis  Fisher  Kane,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Philadelphia, 
describes  the  case  of  the  new  Wanamaker  store  as  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  significant  which  came  up.  This  property,  he  writes, 
"has  250  feet  on  Chestnut  Street  and  Market  Street,  and  489  feet  on 
Thirteenth  Street  and  Juniper  Street,  and  is  the  only  Chestnut  Street 
property  covering  an  entire  block  and  having  four  fronts.  Mr.  Wan- 
amaker's  witnesses  claimed  that  the  loss  of  the  strip  of  ground, 
5x2,^)0  feet,  occasioned  a  damage  amounting  to  $93,950,  which  they 
worked  out  at  the  rate  of  $75.00  a  square  foot.  The  city's  witnesses 
testified  that  no  property  in  the  city  bore  out  their  theory  more 
clearly  than  this,  and  that  the  market  value  of  such  a  property  with 
four  fronts,  484  feet  deep  on  a  60  foot  wide  street,  was  equal  in  value 
to  a  property  489  feet  deep  on  a  street  50  feet  wide.  Notwithstand- 
ing witnesses  who  testified  to  the  contrary,  Mr.  Gibbons,  of  the  city 
solicitor's  office,  won  the  case,  and  the  jury  took  the  city's  view  and 
made  no  award."  It  should  be  added,  however,  that  not  all  the  cases 
have  been  equally  successful,  some  owners  being  allowed  nominal 
damages. 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


23 


F/a.  1 


Calhoun  Street,  as  it  now  is,  between    the    railroad   and  Lewis    Street.      With  a  vehicle  on  either 
curb,  through  traffic  has  no  space  except  on  the  street  car  tracks. 


fo 


y///////// '■  / . 


-10- 


F7G.2 


With  this  part  of  Calhoun  Street  broadened  to  give  a  fifty-foot  road — accomplished  by  adding  ten 

feel  to  the  street's  width  and  taking  two  feet  from  each  sidewalk — ''    would    be    possible 

for  a  wagon  to  pass  between  a  truck  Q'  fhe  curb  and  a  street  car.      The  small 

change  would  thus  give  two  additional  lines  of  traffic,  so  facilitating 

greatly  all  traffic  movement. 


At  all  events,  Calhoun  Street  could  be  widened  five  feet  on 
a  side  for  that  distance  very  quickly  under  the  Philadelphia 
ordinance,  and  this  would  be  a  result  well  worth  getting  for 
nothing.  A  delay,  however,  will  mean  that  new  buildings,  not 
to  be  changed  for  a  long  time,  will  be  constructed  on  the  pres- 
ent line.  It  should  be  added  that  the  widening  of  this  portion 
of  Calhoun  Street  is  particularly  necessary  because  from  the 
tracks  to  Lewis  street  its  present  width  is  only  sixty  feet,  as 


24  i'ort  Wayne  Civic  fiiiprovcniciit  Association 

compared  with  sixty-six  further  north ;  and  because  in  that 
section  the  cross  streets  do  not  directly  connect.  As  a  result,  all 
cross  travel  here  imposes  an  extra  traffic  burden. 

North  of  Jefferson  Street,  the  big  buildings  having  been 
already  constructed,  any  widening  is  a  serious  problem. 
Probably  the  only  feasible  method  to  obtain  reasonably  prompt 
results  would  be  to  use  arcades — as  was  so  beautifully  done,  for 
instance,  on  the  Rnc  dc  Rivoli  in  Paris.  In  this  case,  the 
street  level  of  the  buildings  would  be  set  back  twenty  feet,  the 
upper  stories  remaining  as  they  now  are  but  supported  for 
their  front  twenty  feet  on  arches.  Under  these  arcades, 
sheltered  from  sun  and  storm,  would  be  the  sidewalks,  and 
the  widened  road  would  reach  to  the  present  building  line.  It 
would  make  a  beautiful  and  convenient  shopping  street,  permit- 
ting a  nuich  better  circulation  of  traffic  than  now.  Owing  to 
the  great  depth  of  the  lots,  the  slight  store  space  could  be 
well  relinquished  to  gain  the  widened  street,  cs])ecially  if  upper 
stories  were  not  disturbed. 

So  perhaps,  after  all,  realizing  the  present  and  growing 
congestion  of  Fort  Wayne's  business  district,  we  can  hope  to 
supplement  facilitation  of  traffic  by  actually  widening  Calhoun, 
the  busiest  of  the  streets.  For  the  delays  and  inconveniences 
are  not  of  today  only.  They  arise  from  a  structural  defect,  in 
having  made  business  streets  too  narrow  for  the  business  of  a 
city.  And  that  structural  defect,  so  long  as  it  ])ersists,  must 
throttle  and  handicap  the  city,  l)ec<^)ming  from  year  to  year  a 
greater  impediment. 

Before  leaving  Ihe  business  section,  there  are  suggestions 
to  be  made  regarding  its  ap])earance.  A  city,  it  may  be  noted, 
is  very  largely  judged  by  its  business  (|uarter.  Many  a  visitor's 
sightseeing  does  not  get  beyond  the  s])ace  between  the  station 
and  hotel,  lie  does  not  see  the  ])arks,  or  tine  avemies,  or  the 
interior  of  public  buildings,  but  he  forms  his  judgment  from 
the  business  streets.  Moreover,  this  is  the  one  section  of  the 
city  that  is  used  in  common  by  all  the  citizens.  Parks  so  well 
distributed  as   b'ort  Wayne's,  inevitabh-  have  a  neighborhood 


Port  U\i\'nr  Ciric  I iiipr<>:'cmcnl  .  Issuriiilloii 


25 


clientele.  But  into  the  business  streets  all  the  city  comes  all  the 
year  around ;  and  in  them  is  represented  very  much  of  the  city's 
wealth.  There  is,  then,  no  impropriety  in  demanding  that  they 
have  at  least  the  beauty  of  dignity. 

The  very  first  step  which  will  <loubtless  occur,  most  i^ro])- 
erly,  to  every  resident  of  h'ort  Wayne,  as  it  certainly  will  to 
every  visitor,  is  the  cleaning"  of  the  alleys.  'J^his  will  mean 
some  paving,  and  some  paving  repairs.  The  alleys  of  h'ort 
Wayne  are  so  conspicuous  there  can  be  no  pretense  of  civic 
beauty  if  they  do  not  contribute  at  least  cleanliness  to  the  gen- 
eral efTect.  It  is  the  general  experience  of  cities  that  to  pave 
alleys  in  congested  quarters  with  asphalt,  which  is  easy  to  clean 
and  to  keep  clean,  is  the  course  most  satisfactory  and  eco- 
nomical. 


Ifi  .Uley  inlerseclion  half  a  block  from  Calhoun  Street.      This  is  fairly  typical. 


26  I'ort  Jl'ayiic  Ck'ic  fiii/^ro-rciiicii/  .  Issnciatio)! 

The  proposed  cleariiii;"  of  the  street  walks  of  unnecessary 
appurtenances,  and  the  ini])r(jvcments  suggested  to  facilitate 
traffic,  will  have  incidentally  a  considerable  effect  in  improving 
the  aspect  of  the  streets.  T  spoke  of  ]nitting  street  lam])s  on  the 
trolley  poles.  Ornamental  lighting  of  business  streets  has  now 
become  an  accepted  form  of  normal  municipal  imi)rovement. 
The  method  of  arch  lighting  in  use  for  short  distances  in  the 
business  section  of  Fort  Wayne  is  the  best  of  its  kind  I  have 
seen.  It  does  not  give  the  heavy,  tunnel  effect  of  the  arches 
used  in  Columbus,  for  example.  Rut  avoiding  tliat  fault,  it  slips 
into  another.  On  a  street  which  there  has  hcen  serious  attempt 
to  free  from  overhead  wires,  there  is  created  a  seeming  cob- 
web of  such  wires.  From  the  point  of  view  of  municipal  aes- 
thetics, there  is  no  question  that  an  ornamental  standard  is  far 
preferable  to  any  arch  system.  Objection  has  been  made  that 
a  good  standard  would  occupy  useful  sidewalk  space.  If  the 
trolley  poles  were  jacketed  for  the  purpose,  this  objection 
would  lose  its  force,  and  in  any  case  the  requirement  would 
be  a  small  fraction  of  that  made  by  such  a  pole  as  the  one  pho- 
tographed— which  is  on  Calhoun  Street,  in  the  ver}-  heart  of 
the  business  district,  across  from  the  Court  House.  As  long 
as  there  is  room  for  such  a  pole,  nothing  should  be  said  about  a 
lack  of  room  for  beautiful  light  standards. 

The  signs  on  this  pole  bring  up  another  very  conspicuous 
aesthetic  short-coming  of  Fort  Wayne's  business  streets.  This 
is  the  multiplicity  of  projecting  signs.  Projecting  signs  de- 
stroy absolutely  any  architectural  dignity.  What  inducement 
has  owner  or  architect  to  make  a  handsome  facade  if  these 
signs  are  to  render  im])racticable  any  sight  of  it  ?  Sometimes 
the  owners  of  a  good  office  building  prohibit  any  other  signs 
than  window  lettering ;  but  what  use  is  that,  if  the  tenants  of  the 
structures  on  either  side  can  thrust  out  wooden  fences  to  hide 
the  good  buildings?  The  signs  destroy  the  street's  vista,  ruin 
its  proi)ortions.  They  get  in  each  other's  way,  one  blanketing 
another,  so  that  it  becomes  most  difficult  to  enforce  a  merely  re- 
strictive ordinance.     They  distract  the  eye    as    a    clamor    of 


Port  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  27 


//  has  been  objected  that  Calhoun  Street  sidewalks  are  too  narrow  for  ornamental  light 
poles,  but  they  are  deemed  wide  enough  for  this. 


28  Fort  Jl'iiync  C'/r'/V  fiiiprorciiicnl  .  Issociafioii 

wrangling  shouts  distresses  the  ear,  and  lead  only  to  confusion. 
It  is  idle  to  talk  about  cit\-  beauty,  about  ornamental  street 
lighting,  about  a  united  civic  spirit,  while  the  main  streets  are 
given  over  to  such  puerile  discordance.  hVjrt  Wayne  will  do 
easily  a  big  thing  that  will  count  for  much  in  her  municipal 
improvement  if  there  be  enacted  an  ordinance  prohibiting  ab- 
solutely the  daytime  projecting  sign. 

As  to  the  projecting  illuminated  sign,  it  has  more  numer- 
ous friends,  because  of  its  brightening  of  the  way.  I  could 
wish  the  same  amount  of  light  might  be  more  artistically  dis- 
posed— in  outlining  cornices  or  stories  for  example ;  but  as 
there  is  no  natural  vista  of  the  street  at  night  that  can  be 
broken,  no  beauty  of  architectural  ornament  to  be  hidden  by 
signs  that  the  darkness  itself  w'ould  not  conceal,  gay  night 
signs  can  be  suffered  with  a  measure  of  equanimity.  I'ut  be- 
cause at  day  time  they  are  more  hideous  even  than  the  lettered 
signs  of  daylight,  if  left  projecting  across  the  walk,  there  should 
be  requirement  that  they  be  constructed  to  fold  back,  wdien  not 
in  use,  against  the  building.  This  is  a  perfectly  practicable  and 
simple  requirement,  which  has  been  made  with  entire  success 
in  numerous  cities. 

May  I  quote  from  "Modern  Civic  Art"  these  lines,  now 
commonly  accepted  as  expressing  a  correct  ideal :  "The  street 
at  least  civic  art  can  claim  as  its  own  province,  bidding"  adver- 
tisement stand  back  to  the  building  line.  No  hindrance  should 
be  offered  to  a  clear  path  for  travel  by  walk  or  road,  no  an- 
nouncement should  break  the  vista  of  the  street,  nor  thrust 
itself  before  the  wayfarer  by  hanging  over  the  walk  or  stand- 
ing upon  it  at  door  or  curb.  The  street  should  be  a  clear  pas- 
sage-— that  is  its  object  in  the  making ;  and  there  is  as  true  a 
need  that  every  inch  of  it  be  open  to  the  sky  as  that  the  vista 
of  the  way  be  unbroken.  This  means  that  civic  art,  turning  its 
attention  to  the  furnishings  of  the  street,  would  frown  uix)n  all 
projecting  signs;  that  it  would  prohibit  all  bulletin  boards, 
signs,  and  transparencies  on  the  sidewalk  or  at  the  curb;  that 
it  would  have  no  banners  hung"  across  the  street,  nor  woidd  suf- 


Fort  IVaync  Civic  Improvement  Association 


29 


Projecting  Signs—Calhoun  and  Main  Sireels. 


^^S 


30  Fort  IVayiie  Civic  Iiiif^roz^ciiiciit  .Issociation 

fer  any  i)nblic  utility  or  ornament  of  the  way  to  be  placarded. 
It  would  sweep  the  street  itself  clean  of  advertisements  from 
building  front  to  building  front." 

The  smoke  evil  at  Fort  Wayne  is  very  serious.  Some 
people,  knowing  that  smoke  represents  business,  point  to  it 
with  pride,  or  at  least  indulgently,  and  say  that  it  means  wealth. 
But  the  thing  it  really  means  is  waste.  Mechanical  smoke 
suppression  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  perfected.  The 
fireman  is  in  the  main  resi)onsible.  If  it  were  generally  under- 
stood that  every  ba»iner  of  black  smoke  advertises,  as  it  does, 
the  carelessness  and  inefificiency  of  firemen,  there  would  come 
improvement.  An  ordinance  imposing  a  fine  on  employer  and 
employe  for  the  emission  of  black  smoke  for  upwards  of  five 
consecutive  minutes  at  a  time  would  help,  if  properly  enforced. 

Under  the  heading,  "An  Industrial  District,"  I  shall  speak 
of  another  phase  of  the'matter,  perhaps  giving  better  promise 
of  results ;  and  I  approve  a  suggestion  that  in  the  heart  of 
the  city  there  be  marked  out  a  zone  within  which  the  emission 
of  any  black  smoke  shall  be  unlawful. 

A  shelter  for  waiting  trolley  passengers  is  a  need  at 
"Transfer  Corner."  Eventually,  the  interurban  trolleys  will 
need,  and  the  municipality  will  properly  insist  that  they  have, 
an  adequate  terminal  station.  There  is  no  more  reason  why 
they  should  be  sufifered  to  use  the  public  streets  for  station  pur- 
poses than  that  steam  railroads  should  lie  excused  from  pro- 
viding station  accommodations.  Indeed,  there  is  less  reason, 
since  steam  trains  would  stop  on  a  private  right  of  way,  while 
the  trolleys,  loading  and  unloading  in  the  street,  block  traffic 
on  a  public  highway.  So  the  station  need  will  be  eventually 
met  in  Fort  Wayne,  as  it  has  been  in  Indianapolis.  But  in  the 
meantime  a  shelter  at  "Transfer  Corner"  would  be  a  genuine 
public  convenience.  There  is  room  for  it  on  the  broad  walk 
north  of  the  Court  House  on  Main  Street,  a  walk  forty  feet 
wide — and  a  light,  artistic  little  structure  could  well  be  placed 
at  the  northwest  corner.  I  append  photographs  of  one  in  use 
at  Washington,  and  of  one  on  the  public  square  in  Cleveland. 
It  is  as  well  that  tlicre  be  no  seals  provided,  as  these  might  in- 


Forf  JJ^aync  Civic  luiproTcmcut  .Issocialiou  31 


Sidewalk  shelter  for  wailing  trolley  passengers  in   IVashington. 


A   trolley  waiting  station  on  the  Public  Square  in  Cleveland. 


32  I'ort  U'dyiic  Civic  Iinprorc'iiicnf  dissociation 

vite  louiii^iiii^-.  The  thinj;'  needed  is  shelter  from  the  sun  and 
storm.  The  city  should  select  the  desij^^n,  and  should  compel 
the  companies  to  ])ay  for  the  structure — as  they  would  probably 
be  quite  willing"  to  do  if  i^iven  the  place  to  put  it.  There 
should  be  a  distinct  understanding,  however,  that  the  arrange- 
ment is  temporary  only. 

The  matter  of  ornamentally  lighting  the  business  streets — 
a  work  which,  through  the  co-operation  of  the  merchants,  has 
been  successfully  taken  up  in  many  cities — has  been  referred  to. 
lUit  whether  or  not  this  be  promptly  done,  the  w^ide  walks 
around  the  Court  House  should  have  ornamental  lighting.  It 
would  seem  hardly  necessary  to  argue  that  point.  There  is 
now  being  installed  in  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago,  a  simply  de- 
signed and  beautiful  standard,  which,  it  seems  to  me,  requires 
little  modification  to  meet  the  need  of  this  location.  The 
standard  is  of  concrete,  cast  in  metal  forms ;  but  the  cement  is 
so  mixed  with  granite  and  washed  in  acid  that  when  complete  it 
has  the  color  of  granite.  The  cost  is  considerably  less  than 
that  of  an  iron  standard,  and  on  the  wide  stone  walk,  with  the 
background  of  the  stone  building,  it  will  better  harmonize  with 
its  setting  than  w^ould  iron.  I  suggest  that  it  be  investigated. 

A  Public  Comfort  Station  is  a  need  in  the  business  por- 
tions of  cities  that  is  receiving  increased  recognition  in  the 
Cnited  States,  as  it  has  long  been  recognized  in  Europe.  The 
underground  toilet  best  satisfies  American  sentiment.  One 
might  be  arranged  in  connection  with  the  suggested  trolley 
waiting  station,  a  stairway  at  one  end  leading  dow'n  to  the 
men's  di\ision,  and  a  stairway  at  the  other  leading  to  the 
w^omen's.  This  location  would  be  exceedingly  convenient. 
Another  excellent  site,  perhaps  a  better  one  if  location  at  the 
waiting  station  would  duplicate  facilities  already  offered  in  the 
Court  House,  would  be  under  some  of  the  market  space  on 
Barr  Street,  north  of  the  City  Hall.  This  would  be  con- 
venient for  the  market  men.  and  it  would  be  close  to  crowded 
business  streets,  while  yet  retired.  I  a]:)pen(l  a  photograph  of 
all  that  shows  above  ground  of  a  comfort  station  at  Toronto, 
located  on  a  site  verv  similar  to  this. 


fort  Wayne  Ch'ic  I )iipvo\'ciiu'nl  .  Issocin/ion  33 

lUit.  when  all  is  said,  the  aspect  of  the  business  quarter  of 
a  city  is  more  dclcnnined  ])y  the  character  of  its  commercial 
huildini^s.  and  by  the  i)ro])ortion  of  their  heit^'ht  to  the  width 
of  the  streets  on  which  they  front,  than  by  any  other  thing".  It 
has  been  well  remarked  that  these  proportions  are  one  of  the 
fundamental  ])rinciples  in  the  art  of  beautiful  cit\'  building.  To 
that  art  they  bear,  it  has  been  noted,  the  same  relation  as  do 
the  voids  and  solids  in  the  elevation  of  a  structure,  or  as  do  the 


Entrance  to  a  Public  Comfort  Station  at  Toronto. 

lights  and  shadows  of  a  pictitre.  Incidentally,  as  w'as  pointed 
out  by  the  experts  who  made  study  of  Grand  Rapids,  these 
proportions  "constitute  the  basic  principle  of  all  sanitation,  as 
the  open  spaces  (of  the  street)  provide  the  necessary  sunlight, 
air  and  breathing  spaces  for  the  population  surrounding  them." 
With  the  very  narrow  business  streets  of  Fort  Wayne, 
there  is  the  gravest  danger  that  buildings  will  be  erected  of  a 
height  destructive  to  the  comeliness  of  the  street,  to  its  pro]ier 


34  /vT/  U'liync  Ci7'ic  hnprovciiiciif  .  Issociatinn 

sanitation,  and  to  its  traflic  capacity.  For,  on  the  latter  point, 
it  is  to  be  recalled  that  all  tall  buildings  pour  their  population 
into  the  street,  and  draw  it  out  of  the  street,  at  a])proximately 
one  time.  It  would  take  few  high  buildings  to  congest  Cal- 
houn Street ;  and  buildings  exceeding  six  stories  in  height  will 
very  quickly  convert  it  into  the  appearance  of  a  canyon.  It  is 
imperative,  for  the  good  looks  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  for  comfort 
and  healthfulness  in  its  business  district,  that  there  be  imposed 
a  restriction  as  to  l)uilding  height  to  the  extent  of  proportion- 
ing it  to  street  width.  In  Europe  there  is  common  recjuire- 
men  that  the  height  of  buildings  shall  not  exceed  one  and  one- 
half  times  the  width  of  the  street  on  which  they  face.  Boston, 
Chicago,  and  St.  Louis  are  among  the  American  cities  that 
have  not  been  afraid  to  establish  a  maximum  height  limit. 

While  a  proportioning  of  building  height  to  street  width 
will  put  in  your  hands  a  strong  weapon  for  securing  the  widen- 
ing of  Calhoun  Street  from  the  railroad  to  Lewis,  there  is  this 
also. to  be  considered:  A  limitation  of  building  height  is  of 
general  benefit  to  property.  Preventing  the  concentration  of 
the  city's  business  into  the  short  space  occupied  by  a  few  very 
high  buildings,  it  extends  the  business  section  over  adjacent 
streets.  The  larger  area  absorlied  by  business  displaces  near- 
business  tenants.  These  locate  a  little  further  out,  and  so  the 
movement  extends  until  everywhere  there  is  increased  demand 
for  property.  In  short,  there  is  the  effect  of  dropping  a  stone 
into  a  pool,  the  surface  being  afifected  to  the  furthest  limits.  No 
holder  of  property  outside  the  two  or  three  most  high-priced 
squares  of  Fort  Wayne  but  would  directly  benefit  financially, 
as  well  as  in  other  ways,  by  a  restriction  of  building  heights. 

( )ne  word  more  must  be  said.  It  seems  to  me  exceedingly 
likely  that  a  secondary  business  district  is  going  to  develoj)  on 
South  Calhoun  Street.  There  is  a  very  large  poi)ulation  on  the 
south  side,  and  one  that  is  steadily  growing.  The  elevation 
of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Wabash  tracks  will  do  away  with  most 
of  the  danger  of  the  crossing;  but  the  long  suljway  will  still 
])resent  a  barrier,  which  pedestrians  will  n(it  be  keen  to  cross. 


Fort  ]]''ayuc  Ck'ic  IniprovcmciU  .Issociation  35 

This  business,  which  of  course  will  be  distinctly  secondary 
to  that  north  of  the  tracks,  will  probably  center  at  the  corner 
of  Calhoun  Street  and  Highland  Avenue,  as  there  the  cars  con- 
verge. It  will  not  be  so  much  an  extension  of  the  main  busi- 
ness district  as  a  subsidiary  development.  This  probability  has 
bearing  on  the  City-Plan  in  that  it  invites  inclusion  of  the  small 
designated  area  south  of  the  tracks  in  the  comments  and  sug- 
gestions which  have  been  made  above  for  the  district  north  of 
them. 


36  Port  JJ'aynr  Ci:'ic  fiiif^rorciiioit  Associatinn 

The  Official  Quarter. 


Foit  WayiK'  has  ali-eady 
ail  official  ([uartcr ;  foi-  the 
tlirec  j)u])li('  ))uil(liii^s, 
ivspecfcively  rcpi-eseii tative 
of  coiinty,  nation  and  city, 
arc  rangvd  ak)ng'  a  .sinjj'le 
sti'cet  in  a  space  of  two 
Ijlocks.  Bnt  the  arrange- 
nient  is  absolutely  ineffec- 
tive. The  Court  House  has 
the  l)est  site  ;  but  the  most 
favoi-able  view  one  can  get 
of  it  is  through  alleys,  since 
they  alone  center  on  its 
dome.  Without  grounds 
around  it,  sui-rounded  by 
narrow  streets,  where  tall 
buildings  will  soon  seem  to 
place  it  in  a  little  walled 
courtyard,  one  cannot  even 
now  get  far  enough  away 
to  see  it  as  a  whole.  The 
two  other  buildings,  oc- 
cupying commonphice  com- 
mercial sites,  ai'e  hidden 
from  one  another  by  inter- 
vening structures.  In  the 
aggregate  there  is  i-epre- 
sented  a  very  hirge  public 
expenditui-c.  One  could  almost  throw  a  stone  from  structure 
to  stnictiwe ;  yet  there  is  no  cunuilative  effect. 

To  the  problem  of  creating  out  of  these  adjacent  l)ut  dis- 
tinct units  a  single  civic  composition  that  sliould  make  a  Civic 
("enter,  1  have  devoted  a  great  deal  of  thought.     The  practical 


Fort  JJ'ayue  Civic  hiiprovcmcnt  Association  37 

difficulties,  due  to  important  improvements  and  high  property 
vahies.  are  ahnost  prohibitive.  Yet  values  on  Berry  Street,  be- 
tween the  Court  House  and  City  Hall,  are  not  going-  to  diminish 
or  stand  still.  They  seem  as  certain  as  any  in  the  city  to  ad- 
vance, and  unless  a  plan  embracing  this  property  can  be  car- 
ried out  at  once,  it  is  not  likely  ever  to  be  executed.  Neither 
can  there  be  reasonably  anticipated  the  building  of  a  new  Court 
House  and  a  new  Postoffice  on  new  sites.  The  one  hope  of  a 
Civic  Center  for  many  years  lies  in  dealing  with  the  present 
situation. 

The  condition  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  value  to  a 
community  of  getting  a  City  Plan  as  early  as  possible.  Fore- 
seeing a  big.  costly  Court  House  on  its  present  site,  there 
might  have  been  created,  before  the  Foster  and  Elektron  build- 
ings were  erected,  a  broad,  beautiful  Mall,  leading  directly 
eastward  to  terminate  in  the  l)luff  at  the  bend  of  the  ]\Iaumee 
river,  at  IMonroe  Street.  An  alley,  on  the  axis  of  the  dome, 
now  traverses  the  distance,  and  it  would  have  been  necessary 
onl\-  to  widen  this.  From  Barr  Street  to  Clay  there  are  only  gar- 
dens even  now.  It  is  a  fair  question  whether  for  those  two 
blocks  the  Mall  would  not  be  more  benefit  than  damage  to  the 
property  through  which  it  would  pass.  The  property  between 
Clay  and  Alonroe  is  shallow  and  not  now  expensive.  The 
costly  part  of  the  scheme  today  is  only  the  block  and  a  half  be- 
tween the  Court  House  and  Barr  street.  Of  this  the  first  half 
block  Avas  once  public  property  and  should  simply  have  been 
kept  as  the  Court  Housfe  vSquare.  The  block  from  Clinton  to 
Barr  would  have  offered,  on  either  side  the  ]\Iall,  the  appro- 
priate sites  for  Post  Office,  City  Hall,  and  Convention  Building, 
so  greatly  reducing  the  net  cost.  There  would  have  been  con- 
ferred on  the  neighborhood,  and  on  the  city  at  large  a  great 
benefit.  Increased  assessment  values  would  long  ere  this  have 
paid  for  the  improvement.  And  think  what  we  should  have ! 
An  opportunity  to  see  the  Court  House  ;  and  a  Court  of  Honor, 
the  Court  House  at  its  west  end,  harmonious  public  buildings 
flanking  either  side  to  Barr  Street.  Between  them,  for  ve- 
hicle traffic  would  have  remained  on  !Main  and  Berry  Streets, 


38  Fort  JVayiie  Civic  Improvement  Association 

a  broad  grass  ribbon  with,  on  each  side  of  it,  a  promenade,  ex- 
tending from  the  Court  House  Square  to  the  river  blufif,  where 
is  opened  an  entrancing  view.  Here  a  flagstafif  would  have 
stood,  in  honor  of  Wayne's  stand,  and  at  Old  Fort  Park, 
which  curving  ends  would  have  brought  into  the  Mall  scheme, 
his  statue  might  well  have  been  placed. 

Coming  into  Fort  Wayne  by  the  Nickel  Plate  train,  or 
standing  at  the  little  park  at  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Mall, 
how  fine  a  view  of  the  Court  Flouse  would  have  been  pre- 
sented, how  beautiful  a  civic  picture ;  what  an  impression  would 
have  been  gained  of  the  city !  Or,  turning  to  look  north  and 
east,  we  would  have  had  the  meeting  of  the  three  rivers  and 
the  view  down  the  lovely  Maumee. 

Doubtless  the  plan  will  seem  impossible  now,  for  today 
it  would  take  a  great  deal  of  money.  But  the  thought  of  how 
effectuall}^  a  comparatively  small  measure  of  construction  has 
l)locked  so  fine  a  possibility  should  give  heart  to  do  promptly 
whatever  still  can  be  done. 

We  have  to  accept  the  three  present  public  buildings,  as 
fixed  points,  so  far  as  their  location  is  concerned.  A  Conven- 
tion Flail,  however,  is  contemplated  and  there  naturally  would 
be  advantages  in  a  central  location.  Either  of  two  sites  may 
be,  in  my  judgment,  properly  selected  for  it,  according  as  it  is 
proposed  to  make  it  contribute  to  one  scheme  or  the  other. 

For  the  development  of  a  Civic  Center,  it  might  be  put 
on  the  north  side  of  Berry  Street,  between  the  Elektron  build- 
ing and  Barr  Street.  There  is  nothing  which  is  very  expen- 
sive on  this  site,  and  its  advantages  for  the  purpose  are  many. 
In  its  convenience,  indeed,  the  site  is  all  that  could  be  desired ; 
and  the  public  building  here  would  tie  together  the  Post  Office 
and  City  Hall.  Between  the  latter  two  there  is  already,  in  the 
Post  Office  yard  and  the  Majestic's  open-air  theatre,  a  good 
deal  of  open  ground.  If  it  should  be  possible  to  throw  it  all 
open — a  fire,  for  instance,  might  easily  clear  most  of  the  rest 
of  the  ground — we  should  have  three  public  buildings  gath- 
ered around  three  sides  of  a  s.quare,  and  a  very  presentable  little 


Fort  JVayiir  Civic  linfTovciiiciit  .  Issocialioii  39 

Civic  Center  ready  made.  Meanwhile,  location  here  would  fur- 
ther emphasize  the  Q-roui)ing-  of  the  public  buildings.  It  re- 
serves a  bit  of  land  that  will  never  be  less  valuable,  insuring  a 
safe  investment ;  and  if  a  Mall  ever  were  opened  to  the  Court 
House,  in  order  that  the  latter  might  be  revealed,  a  Conven- 
tion Hall  on  this  site  would  profit  directly  from  the  scheme 
and  would,  in  turn,  enhance  it.  As  to  the  possibility  of  open- 
ing the  Mall,  there  is  no  other  side  from  which  such  an  ap- 
proach to  the  Court  House  can  be  made.  The  existing  alley 
is  fourteen  feet  wide,  and  even  the  Elektron  building  stops 
nine  feet  short  of  it.  As  there  is  nothing  else  of  prohibitive 
value  on  the  plat,  an  approach  thirty-two  feet  wide  is  blocked 
today  only  by  the  Foster  building. 

To  put  the  Convention  Hall  on  this  site,  would  be,  then, 
to  secure  an  exceedingly  convenient  location ;  to  feel  entire 
safety  regarding  the  investment  value  of  the  property ;  to  add 
somewhat  to  the  official  quality  which  the  neighborhood  already 
possesses ;  and  to  be  ready  for  a  fine  civic  effect  should  either, 
or  both,  of  two  possibilities  eventuate  in  the  municipal  devel- 
opment of  the  surrounding  land.  It  is  the  one  chance  for  fur- 
ther developing  and  accentuating  the  present  official  quarter. 


Fort  JJ'ayiic  Cii'ic  liiipro-c'cmriif  Association  39 

Civic  Center  ready  made.  Meanwhile,  location  here  would  fur- 
ther emphasize  the  grouping"  of  the  public  buildings.  It  re- 
serves a  bit  of  land  that  will  never  be  less  valuable,  insuring"  a 
safe  investment ;  and  if  a  Mall  ever  were  opened  to  the  Court 
House,  in  order  that  the  latter  might  be  revealed,  a  Conven- 
tion Hall  on  this  site  would  profit  directly  from  the  scheme 
and  would,  in  turn,  enhance  it.  As  to  the  possibility  of  open- 
ing the  Alall,  there  is  no  other  side  from  which  such  an  ap- 
proach to  the  Court  House  can  be  made.  The  existing  alley 
is  fourteen  feet  wide,  and  even  the  Elektron  building  stops 
nine  feet  short  of  it.  As  there  is  nothing  else  of  prohibitive 
value  on  the  plat,  an  approach  thirty-two  feet  wide  is  blocked 
today  only  by  the  Foster  Ijuilding. 

To  put  the  Convention  Hall  on  this  site,  would  be,  then, 
to  secure  an  exceedingly  convenient  location ;  to  feel  entire 
safety  regarding  the  investment  value  of  the  property ;  to  add 
somewhat  to  the  official  quality  which  the  neighborhood  already 
possesses ;  and  to  be  ready  for  a  fine  civic  effect  should  either, 
or  both,  of  two  possibilities  eventuate  in  the  municipal  devel- 
opment of  the  surrounding  land.  It  is  the  one  chance  for  fur- 
ther developing  and  accentuating  the  present  official  quarter. 


40  Port  JJ'ayiic  Ck'ic  Iinproi'cmcut  .'Issnciatioii 

Approaches  to  the  New  Station, 


T  said  there  was  an  alternative  site  for  the  Convention 
1  lall.    This  other  site  would  hrini;-  it  into  the  Station  I 'Ian. 

Very  clearly  the  building  of  a  new  and  costly  station, 
which  is  to  be  much  lart^er  than  the  old,  and  not  improbabl)- 
a  Union  Station,  develops  a  civic  opportunity  which  amounts 
almost  to  an  obligation.  If  the  railroads  have  a  faith  in  Fort 
Wayne  that  leads  them  to  do  so  much,  the  municipality  should 
show  a  like  confidence  and  arrange  to  the  new  station  an  ade- 
quate approach. 

Two  practical  considerations,  as  distinguished  from  the 
sentimental  one,  urge  promptness  in  such  action.  First,  the 
improvement  is  likely  to  result  in  the  rapid  rebuilding  of  the 
neighborhood,  with  the  consequence  that  conditions  will  be- 
come fixed,  and  values  largely  raised.  When  the  station  has 
been  opened  to  business,  it  will  be  too  late  to  change  street 
lines  unless  heavy  expense  can  be  incurred.  Second,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  a  large  new  station,  which  will  soon  be  the  point  of 
arrival  and  departure  for  many  more  trains  and  many  more 
passengers  than  the  little  station  of  today,  is  going  to  create 
a  great  increase  in  the  traffic  of  the  streets  leading  to  it,  and 
for  such  increase  there  is  now  no  provision.  Finally,  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  city  when  one  comes  out  of  the  station  makes  the 
first,  and  therefore  the  most  lasting,  impression  upon  strangers. 
The  station  is  the  door  of  the  city,  and  the  space  before  it  is 
the  city's  vestibule.  This  is  much  better  understood  abrc^ul 
than  it  is  with  us;  but  the  great  plaza  in  front  of  the  beautiful 
new  station  in  Washington,  the  magnificent  station  ai)proaches 
])lanned  in  Chicago  and  San  Francisco,  under  the  iiurnham 
plans,  in  lUitTalo,  Cleveland  and  Los  Angeles,  under  the  i)lans 
made  b)'  other  authorities,  and  the  beautiful  station  plaza 
which  for  years  has  made  Frovidence,  R.  L,  famous,  are  suf- 
ficient indication  that  the  good  sense  of  Aiuericans  is  leading 
them  to  a  like  conclusion.     We  are  beginning  to  appreciate  that 


Fort  JJ'iiyitc  Civic  fiiifTO'c'ciiioif  Associafion  41 

the  station  exit  and  entrance  is  a  focal  point,  that  here  the 
convergence  and  distribution  of  traffic  demands  larger  space, 
and  that  the  improvement  of  no  other  one  point  in  town  pays 
better,  from  the  artistic  standpoint,  than  does  this. 

I  think  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  new  station 
will  be  located,  not  on  the  present  site,  but  west  of  Calhoun 
Street  on  the  north  side  of  the  tracks.  The  Pennsylvania  rail- 
road has  acquired  a  long  frontage  here.  The  present  station 
site  would  be  extremely  cramped  for  an  improvement,  per- 
mits no  long  platforms — a  thousand  feet  is  not  unusual  in  new 
stations  on  main  lines — and  it  could  be  utilized  for  an  exten- 
sion of  the  present  freight  house,  or  for  a  railroad  office 
building.  On  the  assumption  that  the  new  station  will  be 
placed  west  of  Calhoun,  and  probably  extending  well  beyond 
Harrison,  I  make  the  following  suggestions : 

1.  That  the  company  be  granted  the  permission,  which 
I  fancy  will  be  asked,  to  construct  the  new  building  on  the  two 
blocks  from  Calhoun  to  Webster  ;  but  that,  instead  of  closing 
Harrison  Street  between  liaker  and  the  railroad,  they  be  re- 
quired so  to  bridge  it,  that  it  ma\-  still  be  used  for  subway  pas- 
sage to  the  south  side  of  the  tracks.  This  will  impose  no  un- 
reasonable obligation  on  the  company,  for  the  main  part  of  the 
station  will  in  any  case  be  at  the  track  level.  But  it  will  give  to 
the  city  an  additional  subway  where  it  is  much  needed,  and  will 
make  an  additional  direct  connection  between  the  station  and 
the  southern  part  of  town. 

2.  That  a  plaza  be  formed  in  front  of  the  station.  This 
the  city  can  now  do  at  little  cost,  for  this  is  still  a  section  of 
narrow  brick  sidewalks  and  inexpensive  detached  dwellings. 
While  a  square  would  be  the  most  natural  form  for  the  plaza, 
this  particular  shape  is  by  no  means  necessary.  Some  irregu- 
larity— should  property  owners  be  unreasonable — need  not  be 
feared,  so  long  as  there  be  given  ample  room  for  cabs,  car- 
riages, automobiles,  omnibuses,  mail  and  baggage  wagons. 

3.  That  Harrison  Street  be  widened,  from  sixty  feet  to 
eightv  feet,  for  the  three  blocks  to  Lewis,  where  it  makes  its 


42  Purl  W'axnc  C'vi'ic  I iiiproi'ciiwii/  .  Issocinlidii 

slii>lit  turn  and  wlicrc  now  its  widlli  hccnnK's  sixty-six  feet. 
This  can  hardly  he  done  too  soon,  for  ah"ead\-  the  Stults  apart- 
ments, mider  construction  in  this  section  of  the  street  as  the 
Iveport  is  written,  are  hcinc;-  huiU  Ihrsh  wilh  t!ie  walk.  With 
that  e.xce])tion,  however,  the  houses  now  stand  hack  from  the 
street  line,  leavin,^'  clear  as  yet  the  s])ace  required.  Idiere 
is  no  douht  that  wilh  the  location  of  the  station,  the  character 
of  this  part  of  the  street  will  chan.i^e,  that  much  rehuilding  will 
take  place,  and  that  a  widcnin,n-  of  the  street  will  confer  on  the 
pro])ertv  a  henefit  close  imleed  to  the  loss  that  would  he  occa- 
sioned h\-  niovint;'  the  ficntaL^e  hack  ten  feet  on  a  side. 

To  he  sure  the  street  is  paved,  h'or  the  present  this  pave- 
ment need  not  l)e  disturhed.  Railroads  do  not  move  as  fast  as 
do  their  train-.,  and  it  is  likely  to  he  a  numher  of  years  he  fore 
the  track  elevation  and  new  station  are  completed.  Mean- 
while, and  initil  the  traffic  actually  demands  wider  space,  the 
addition  to  the  street's  width  mav  he  thrown  into  parkiui^'. 
That  there  w'll  eventually  be  need  of  a  wide  street  here,  i)ar- 
alleling'  Calhoun,  no  one  who  believes  in  h^M't  Wayne  can  doubt. 
We  have  seen  that  the  conditions  which  lead  to  cong'estion  on 
Calhoun  Street  are  fundamental  and  ])ermanent :  and  that  the 
street  has  nearly  reached  now  its  maximum  c:u,xicity.  As  that 
point  is  approached,  diversion  of  traffic  is  necessary.  This 
luust  ultimately  throw  on  Harrison  street  an  addititMial  burden, 
beyond  that  imposed  by  the  station  travel.  If  city-i)lanning-  is 
worth  anythini;',  it  must  look  forward  to  that  time  and  so  en- 
able  you   to  ])repare   for  it. 

Doui^las  Avenue,  which  is  a  block  south  of  Lewis  Street, 
marks  the  crest  of  a  slight  rise.  Next  to  a  bad  pavement 
nothing  is  more  abhorrent  to  service  traffic  than  is  a  grade.  If 
we  are  to  fit  Harrison  Street  for  business,  and  exi)ect  to  divert 
to  it  the  excess  traffic  that  would  otherwise  crowd  upon  Cal- 
houn Street,  we  shall  do  well,  when  the  time  comes  for  relay- 
ing" and  wddening  the  Harrison  Street  pavement,  to  cut  down 
the  grade.  The  fact  that  this  has  been  done  only  on  Calhoun 
Street  has  certainl)-  been  no  slight  factor  in  the  business  de- 


Port  Wayne  Cli'ic  liiif^rorciiiciif  .IssDciafion  43 

velo[)nient  of  that  street.  The  rise  is  not  so  eonsiderable  that 
the  cost  will  intiict  damages  on  property  which  is  being  re- 
built, in  response  to  the  transformation  of  a  residence  street 
into  a  business  one. 

There  will  be,  however,  further  advantage  in  cutting  the 
street  down.  With  a  beautiful  station  fronting  on  a  plaza, 
and  closing  the  southern  vista  at  this  part  of  Harrison  Street, 
and  with  the  broadened  street — the  one  wide,  stately,  modern 
street  in  Fort  Wayne — leading  into  this,  we  shall  have,  look- 
ing south  from  Lewis,  a  very  fine  effect,  if  the  grade  be  so  lev- 
eled that  no  intervening  crest  breaks  the  view.  And  coming 
from  the  station  and  looking  across  the  plaza  and  down  the 
broad,  handsomely  proportioned  approach,  there  will  be  otTered 
a  very  stunning  first  impression  of  the  city,  if  a  leveling  of  the 
way  shall  make  it  possible  to  see  as  far  as  Lewis  Street. 

At  that  point  the  street  makes  slight  bend  to  the  left  and 
even  though  the  street  were  widened  to  a  further  point,  the 
vista  would  be  closed.  This  is  a  point,  then,  to  emphasize  and 
dignify;  a  point  to  be  given  as  distinct  and  interesting  an  accent 
as,  at  the  other  end  of  the  short,  handsome  way.  the  station 
will  aft'ord.  Therefore,  I  suggest,  (4),  that  here  be  placed  the 
statue  or  monument  to  Anthony  Wayne,  for  which  the  lew 
in  the  taxes  is  gradually  creating  a  substantial  fund.  What 
more  dignified  and  splendid  setting  could  be  found  for  it,  what 
location  more  appropriate,  than  that  which,  at  a  three  blocks' 
distance,  will  crown  the  imposing  street  that  leads  away  from 
the  station?  The  traveler's  first  view  of  Fort  Wayne,  as  he 
sets  foot  upon  the  city,  would  include  as  the  focal  point  of  the 
picture,  as  the  terminus  of  his  perspective,  the  monument  to 
the  soldier  for  whom  the  city  is  named. 

5.  And  fronting  also  upon  the  statue  might  be  the  Con- 
vention Hall.  For  this  the  northwest  corner  of  Harrison  and 
Lewis  Streets  seem  to  me  admirably  adapted.  The  property 
is  inexpensive ;  it  gives  frontage  on  two  streets ;  it  is  centrally 
located;  it  is  within  short  walking  distance  not  only  of  all 
hotels  but  of  the  railroad  station,  from  which,  indeed,  it  could 


44 


I'Dii  Udyitc  Cl'i'ic  finf^rorcincjil  .Issociiilimi 


l)c  seen,  and  willi  which  it  wonld  Iiavc  sucli  ni)l)le  connection 
as  could  not  fail  to  impress.  This  is  the  alternative  site  I  had 
in  mind  in  s]K'akin<;  of  the  (  )fficial  Quarter.  On  one  of  these 
two  sites,  it  seems  to  me,  the  liall  should  certainl\-  he  ])laced. 

But  even  these  suggestions  do  not  reveal  the  whole  of  my 
station-api^-oach   plan.     ]w>t  north  of  Lewis  Street,  an   alley 

leads  east  t'l-oin  Hai-rison 
to  Calhoun,  and  one  of  the 
slender  t\\  in  si)ii-es  of  the 
CatlK^divil  looms  liii(dy  at 
its  end.  Suppose  the  space 
between  Lewis  and  this 
alley,  now  containing  no- 
thing of  large  value,  were 
ac(piired  and  transfoi-uied 
into  a  l)eautiful  formal  gar- 
den, the  street  and  some- 
what widened  alley  forming 
a  double  i-oadway  on  either 
side  of  this  middle  garden. 
Thei-e  would  b:'  opened  a 
n()l)le  view  of  the  Cathedral. 
There  Avoidd  be  opened 
from  Calhoun  street  a  view 
of  the  Wayne  statue  and  of 
the  ( 'ouveutiou  Hall.  There 
would  be  aeijuired  at  a 
strategic,  and  yet  comiiara- 
tiv(dy  iuexpensixc,  point, 
the  oidy  o])en  si)ace  in  the 
business  district  of  Fort 
AVayne.  Thei-e  W(»u]d  be 
otferfMl  to  the  Coincntion 
Hall  a  lo\'(dy  on  t  1  ook  . 
There  would  be  established 
between  the  imposing  sta- 

Present  view  of  the  Cathedral  from  the  Alley  {XoW    appVOach   aud   CalholMl 

north  of  Lewis  Street. 


r 

J 

^^^^^^^^M^l 

1-       '■  ' 

1    liLHZ^M 

■'m     m 

M^~^ 

m^mm^-m 

^ 

Port  Ji'ayiic  C'/r/r  hiiprorciiiciif  .  Issociafioii 


45 


street  an  iuterestiiig'  and  Avortliy  coiiiiectioii.*  There  would 
be  created  big  vahics  for  the  property,  which  is  now 
of  litth^  value,  on  the  south  side  of  Lewis  street  and 
on  the  north  side  of  the  alley,  ])ecause  it  would  front  on 
this  park,  and  the  increased  assessable  value  of  this  property — 
permanent  and  growing' — would  soon  pay  the  cost  of  the  im- 
provement. In  a  little  while  you  could  say  you  had  got  this 
centrally  located  park  for  nothing.  It  is  my  belief  that  all  these 
gains  make  abundantly  worth  while  the  acquirement  of  that 


Calhoun  Street  property  opposite  the  Cathedral  and  the  extraordinary  opportunity  it  presents. 

little  half  block  of  poorly  developed  property.  You  certainly, 
then,  in  the  complete  carrying  out  of  this  scheme,  would  have 
a  notable  improvement;  and  people  would  begin  to  talk  of 
Fort  Wayne  as  a  handsome  and  beautiful  city. 

*It  is  worth  while,  perhaps,  to  note  that  tlie  form  of  this  little 
central  PLACE  satisfies  ideal  requirements  for  such  construction. 
Though  it  is  so  accessible,  the  streets  would  lead  to  it  in  such  in- 
conspicuous fashion  that  the  breaks  would  nowhere  be  obvious,  the 
eye  being  carried  over  tliem  along  the  border  walls.  That  is  to  say. 
the  conditions  offer  that  sense  of  enclosure  which  is  one  secret  of 
the  artistic  success  of  picturesque  squares  in  old  Eurouean  cities. 


46  Fort  U'ayjic  Civic  I luf'rovciiiciit  Association 

If  so  much  is  to  be  done  for  the  approaches  to  the  new  rail- 
road station,  to  the  end  that  arrival  and  departure  there  shall 
be  made  convenient  and  that  travelers  who  enter  Fort  Wayne 
by  it  shall  be  well  impressed,  every  efifort  should  be  exerted 
to  make  the  station  truly  a  union  one.  Only  so  will  the  pro- 
posed improvements  confer  the  largest  possible  benefit.  By 
"union,"  I  mean  that  it  shall  be  used  by  trains  of  every  road 
entering"  the  xity.  So  far  as  trackage  is  concerned,  this  is 
entirely  feasible. 

In  closing  this  discussion  of  ])lans  for  suitable  station  ap- 
proaches, it  is  perhaps  necessary  to  emphasize  once  more  the 
point  that  there  is  no  proposal  that  the  whole  improvement 
be  made  at  once.  It  will  be  enough  for  the  present  to  acquire 
the  necessary  land.  Any  delay  as  to  this  may  make  the  whole 
plan  impracticable.  The  city  has  already  lost  one  great  chance, 
that  should  teach  a  lesson,  in  its  failure  to  provide  in  time  for 
a  Civic  Center.  A  combination  of  circumstances  happily  of- 
fers now  such  another  opportunity  in  connection  with  station 
development — a  chance  to  create  the  best  station  approach,  as 
far  as  I  know,  of  any  city  of  its  size  in  the  United  States.  It 
can  be  foreseen,  too,  that  the  property  involved  is  destined  to 
change  rapidly  in  value  and  character.  The  city  must  act  at 
once,  or  assume  the  grave  responsibility  of  denying  to  the  fu- 
ture Fort  Wayne  the  opportunity  for  any  large  and  fine  civic 
effect  here.  It  is  possible  that  to  secure  the  plan  the  property 
owners  on  Harrison  Street  would  donate  the  small  frontage  re- 
quired for  the  street's  ultimate  widening.  Certainly  they  could 
aft'ord  to  do  so.  In  such  case  a  comparatively  small  bond  issue 
would  buy  the  lots  needed  for  the  station  plaza  and  the  half 
block  for  the  park.  The  development  and  improvement  of  the 
purchased  property,  when  the  time  came  for  that,  could  be 
properly  assessed  on  the  frontage. 

With  reference  to  tlie  track  elevation,  as  the  city  is  to  pay 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  overhead  crossing  at  the 
street  it  has  very  properly  required  that  tiie  company  submit 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  rinprovemcnt  Association  47 

to  it  the  plans  and  estimates  for  the  work.  This  gives  to  the 
municipality  the  opportunity  to  insist  that  the  bridges,  con- 
spicuous as  these  will  prove  in  the  street  view,  shall  be  of  pleas- 
ing design,  ornament  and  color.  On  this  point  there  should  be 
unmovable  insistence. 


48  I'ort  Jl'aync  Ci''i^i(^  fiiif'ni-T'cnu'iif  .-Issociafioii 

An  Industrial   District. 


Fort  Wayne  is  an  industrial  cit}-.  The  primary  reason 
men  live  liere  is  because  there  is  work  to  be  done,  and  the 
bulk  of  the  workers  are  not  tradesmen  or  clerks,  but  operatives. 

The  city's  industrial  character  must  influence  all  our  plan- 
ning". \\'e  have  considered  thus  far  onl}-  the  show  places  and 
the  places  where  the  citizens  trade.  The  j^laces  where  they 
work,  wdiere  they  live,  and  where  they  shall  play  are  of  vital 
importance  in  the  l)uilding  of  the  better  l-Y^rt  Wayne.  And 
these  three  places,  however  intermingled,  must  be  correlated 
in  a  city  plan.  Each  must  be  located  with  a  view  to  maximum 
of  efficiency,  and  of  non-interference  with  the  others.  Inter- 
ference is  easy.  Lor  example,  the  use  of  high-class  residence 
property  for  the  creation  of  a  picture-park  is  extravagant  to 
the  point  of  waste,  or  the  location  of  a  factory  in  the  midst 
of  a  quiet  residence  district  is  an  uneconomic  intrusion.  If 
the  factory  is  so  distressing  to  the  senses  of  hearing,  or  smell 
and  sight,  as  to  be  a  "nuisance,"  the  courts  will  intervene  to 
prevent  the  intrusion.  If  it  fall  short  of  such  extreme  un- 
pleasantness as  a  neighbor,  it  may  still  depreciate  the  value 
of  surrounding  proj^erty,  and  municipal  waste  results.  In 
scientific  Germany,  cities  and  towns  are  now  laid  out  in  distinct 
sections,  for  trade,  for  manufacturing,  and  for  different  classes 
of  dwellings.  Without  going  so  far  as  that,  we  yet  may  con- 
sider in  what  sections  a  community  will  most  properly  encour- 
age manufacturing  or  residence. 

The  Packard  Company,  located  on  I-'airtield  Avenue,  has 
made  its  grounds  lovely  with  planting".  \'er}"  striking,  too, 
are  the  remarkable  neatness  and  attractiveness  of  the  grounds 
of  the  Wabash  roundhouse,  lower  down,  on  the  same  street. 
This  is  good  work,  sociologically  as  well  as  aesthetically,  and 
is  everywhere  to  be  encouraged.  But  even  an  assurance  of 
such  develo])n"ient  will  not  justify,  in  a  scientific  city  plan,  the 
placing  of  a  factory  in  a  high  class  residence  district.     A  dog 


Fort  U'a\nc  Ck'ic  hiiproi'ciiicnt  .  Issociaficii 


49 


is  out  of  place  at  a  cat  show,  even  tlnnii^h  he  does  wear  a  rih- 
hon  around  his  neck. 

One  particular  reason  for  (Hshke  of  a  factory  in  a  resi- 
dence district  is  the  smoke  emitted  from  it.  If  the  factories 
of  a  citv  are  so  k:)cated  that  under  usual  wind  conditions  their 
smoke  is  blown  across  the  residence  and  trading  portions  of  the 
town,  there  is  done  on  a  great  scale  the  injury  that  one  factory, 
when    erroneously   placed,    does   on    a   small    scale.     In    Fort 


A   bit  of  the  Packard  Grounds. 

\\'a\-ne  the  prevailing  wind  is  southwest.  The  location  of  fac- 
tories southwest  of  the  city,  or  even  in  the  rolling  mill  district, 
is  therefore,  from  this  point  of  view,  unfortunate. 

But  the  residences  must  not  interfere  with  the  factories 
any  more  than  the  factories  should  interfere  with  the  resi- 
dences. If  no  equally  good  site  for  manufacturing  can  be 
found,  or  created,  that  high-class  residence  section  which  is  now 
established  on  West  Jefiferson,  Washington,  \\'a\ne  and  Berry 


50 


Port  Wayne  Civic  fiiiprorcinciit  .Isscciatioii 


Streets  will  have  to  move,  leavinj^-  its  place  for  the  homes  of 
operatives.  Generally  speaking,  it  is  easier  to  move  dwell- 
ings than  factories.  The  action  is  more  or  less  automatic,  and 
may  be  witnessed  today  in  operation  in  scores  of  cities.  Fac- 
tories make  a  neighborhood  un])leasant ;  those  residents  who 
can  afford  to  do  so  move  away,  and  the  character  of  the  neigh- 
borhood is  quickl}'  transformed.  This  is  a  very  serious  mat- 
ter, however,  for  the  many  whose  ])r()pert}'  is  affected.  If  the 
future  is  going  to  see  smoke-belching  factories  congregated  in 
numbers  in  the  rolling  mill  district,  the  health,  comfort  and 


The  well  kept  turf  of  the   Wabash  Roundhouse  offers  an  example  lo  many  a  fronl  yard. 

ha])])iness  of  all  the  citizens  of  Fort  Wayne  will  be  strongly 
aft'ected.  and  the  whole  character  of  the  city's  development 
will  be  changed. 

In  a  cit}-  such  as  lujrt  Wayne,  where  the  topogra])hy  is 
practically  level  and  where  no  natural  power  is  generated,  rail- 
road facilities  more  than  any  other  one  thing  determine  the 
availability  of  a  manufacturing  site.  The  excellence  of  these 
in  the  rolling  mill  district  is  the  strongest  invitation  to  indus- 
trial development  there,  h^or  the  present,  no  serious  harm  has 
been  done,     Dut  in  locating  the  future  factories  of  the  city,  a 


Fort  ]]'a\nc  Civic  f iiiproz'cmciit  .Issocialioii  51 

matter  under  eonsideralile  eontrol,  a  very  serious  condition 
confronts  the  community.  If  there  be  desire  that  a  distinctively 
manufacturing-  section  be  not  developed  southwest  of  an  exist- 
ing business  and  a  high-class  residence  district,  equal  or  better 
railroad  facilities  must  be  elsewhere  provided.  This,  in  an 
American  city,  is  a  matter  for  private  or  associated  effort 
rather  than  for  municipal  action. 

In  my  judgment  there  exists  an  extraordinary  opportunity 
for  developing  such  a  section  where  it  will  do  no  harm.  1 
refer  to  the  triangular  area  east  of  Walton  Avenue,  between 
the  Pennsylvania  and  Wabash  railroads.  This  is  east  of  the 
city,  with  no  settlement  northeast  of  it  which  the  smoke  could 
injure.  It  is  bounded  on  north  and  south  by  the  principal 
railroads  that  now  enter  Fort  Wayne,  and  the  Nickel  Plate 
lies  only  a  half  mile  away,  across  a  practically  level  country  cut 
by  no  intervening  river.  If,  as  is  desirable,  the  Nickel  Plate 
makes  use  of  the  new  l^nion  Station  for  passenger  service,  it 
will  build  across  that  half  mil^-.  In  any  case,  so  short  a  space 
of  easy  road  construction  would  offer  no  obstacle  to  the  com- 
pany. The  Lake  Shore  would  enter  the  section  on  the  Nickel 
Plate  tracks.  An  interurban  road  now  passes  through  it. 
As  to  distance  from  the  center  of  the  city,  the  tract  lies  at  the 
same  air-distance  from  the  Court  House  as  does  the  rolling 
mill ;  in  directness  and  ease  of  communication,  however,  it  is 
better  off.  Further,  as  a  civic  advantage,  the  teaming  does  not 
traverse  a  high-class  residence  district ;  and,  as  a  labor  advant- 
age, the  section  is  adjacent  to  a  large,  firmly  established,  and 
as  yet  only  partly  developed  laborers'  cottage  district,  lying 
just  west  and  southwest  of  it  and  having  already  convenient 
street  car  service.  The  region  itself  is  almost  virgin  terri- 
tory, a  great  deal  of  it  being  open  and  farm-like. 

As  this  proposed  industrial  area  is  situated  beyond  the 
present  city  limits,  no  immediate  obligation  can  be  assumed  by 


52  Fort  JJ'ciyiic  Cii'ic  Improri'iiiciil  .  Issaciiilioit 

ihc  inunici]);ility  in  its  development.  New  Haven  Avenue, 
however,  which  makes  in  its  western  end  a  very  convenient 
and  valuable  diaL;()nal.  should,  after  enterinj^'  the  city,  he  ex- 
tended to  at  least  Lillic  Street.  This  is  only  a  block,  but  it 
would  save  nearly  two  blocks'  travel,  and  it  would  have  the 
advantage  of  carrying;  the  teaming  beyond — that  is.  west  of — 
Walton  Avenue,  which,  as  the  only  unbroken  north  and  south 
street  on  the  east  side  of  tiie  city,  has  great  driving  im])()rtance. 
The  block  tlu-ough  whicli  tlic  extension  would  pass  is  now  va- 
cant property.  The  few  streets  which  have  been  laid  out  in  the 
proposed  section  are  fairly  well  placed — New  Haven  Avenue. 
Chestnut  Street  and  Wayne  Terrace  are  almost  ideally  situated 
for  arterial  service.  ]^>ut  the  streets  are  inadecjuatel}'  narrow — 
Chestnut,  for  instance,  is  forty  feet  from  lot  line  to  lot 
line,  and  carries  the  interurban  track.  If,  for  wdiat  it  would 
mean  to  Fort  Wayne,  there  is  to  be  a  serious  attempt  to  de- 
velo])  this  tract  as  the  industrial  region,  the  city  should  take 
it  promptly  into  the  corporate  limits,  to  the  end  that  super- 
visory control  over  street  widths  and  .street  location  may  be 
exercised.  A'ery  likel}'  this  would  prove  in  fact  a  needless  pre- 
caution, for  the  civic  spirit  and  the  enterprise  that  would  un- 
dertake so  great  a  scheme  would  jirobably  ])lan  well.  Hut 
there  should  be  assurance  that  it  will.  There  would  he  the 
advantages  of  favorable  toi)ogra])hical  conditions,  of  a  nearly 
virgin  field,  of  the  i^resence  and  interest  of  great  railroad  cor- 
porations. The  land  would  he  laid  out  not  in  the  usual  house 
lots,  but  in  manufacturing  ])lats  ;  and  to  serve  these  at  the 
mininuun  ex])enditure  of  time  and  effort  the  streets  and  >iding> 
would  be  planned.  In  these  respects,  the  trad  could  acluall\- 
be  made  second  to  none  in  the  United  States  in  its  convenience. 

There  is  thus  the  possibility  of  develo])ing  a  great  manu- 
facturing section,  making  it  contribute  to  the  wealth  and 
numl)ers    and   prestige   of  the   city    without   exacting  the   toll 


Fort  U'axuc  Ck'ic  Inipyo-i'oucuf  .  Issociafioii  53 

which  its  location  to  the  west  would  exact.  Left,  as  the  mat- 
ter must  he,  to  private  enterprise,  there  is  recjuirement  of  cour- 
age ;  but  the  conditions  are  such  as  to  make  courage  worth 
while.  It  may  be  said  on  this  ])oint  that  ever\'  item  in  the  cost 
of  receiving'  or  shi]^ping  freight  which  it  is  possible  to  elimin- 
ate, and  good  planning  of  this  section  could  eliminate  many, 
correspondingly  extends  the  distance  to  which  the  products  of 
Fort  Wayne  can  be  shipped  with  profit,  and  increases  the  profit 
on  sales  in  the  radius  already  reached.  There  should  of  course 
be  no  delay  in  developing  this  industrial  section,  if  the  largest 
success  is  to  be  secured  with  economy. 

I  have  said  that  the  development  of  this  section  will  prob- 
ably have  to  be  left  to  private  enterprise,  the  city  exercising  no 
more  than  a  supervisory  control  through  its  authority  to  accept 
or  reject  streets,  allow  sidings,  and  so  on.  The  sympathetic 
interest  of  the  railroads  may  properly  be  anticipated ;  but  their 
active  co-operation,  especially  as  between  themselves — which 
would  be  necessary  to  complete  success — is  not  as  easily 
gained.  To  that  end  it  may  be  found  advisable  to  form  a 
freight  terminal  company,  in  which  the  railroads,  or  their 
ofificials,  shall  be  stockholders  jointly  with  the  realty  and  indus- 
trial interests,  and  shall  have  with  the  latter  a  share  in  the 
management. 

As  to  making  street  i)lans  for  the  district,  there  is  no  ad- 
vantage in  attempting  to  include  these  in  the  present  Report. 
It  is  enough  here  to  urge  the  advantages,  civic  and  economic,  of 
developing  for  Fort  Wayne  a  distinct  manufacturing  section, 
and  of  locating  it  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city  from  the 
point  where  it  now  seems  likely  to  develop.  One  further  sug- 
gestion may,  however,  be  ofifered.  Assuming  this  section's  in- 
dustrial development,  the  Wabash,  and  even  the  Lake  Shore 
road,  might  well  construct  a  semi-lxdt  line  that,  running  south 
(-)f  the  citv,  windd  connect  the  \'ards  and  sidings  lierc  with  the 


54  Port  Wayne  Ch'ic  Improvement  Association 

main  lines  west  of  the  St.  Mary's  river.  The  advantage  to  the 
raih'oads  would  be  the  substitution  of  a  short  haul  for  freight 
traffic  instead  of  the  present  roundabout  three-sided  loop 
through  the  city.  The  advantages  to  the  municipality  woidd  be 
the  freeing  of  the  tracks  that  cut  through  the  center  of  the  city 
from  numerous  freight  trains,  with  the  danger,  noise,  delay  and 
smoke  that  every  such  train  involves.  The  location  and  grade 
of  the  line  would  have,  however,  to  be  carefully  worked  out. 

This  possibility  of  a  new  manufacturing  section,  developed 
on  modern  lines,  is  in  my  judgment  one  of  the  most  important 
possibilities  now  before  the  city ;  one  of  great  economic  promise 
to  capital  and  labor,  and  of  immense  significance  in  the  city's 
improvement. 


Fort  JJ'ayiie  Civic  Improvement  Association  55 

Public   Market. 


By  virtue  of  a  public-spirited  citizen's  deed  of  gift,  Fort 
Wayne  has  for  some  years  had  a  public  market,  extending 
more  or  less  informally  south  from  the  City  Hall.  With  the 
growth  of  population,  the  original  narrow  strip  dedicated  to 
market  purposes  has  proved  inadequate,  and  now  the  wagons 
overflow  into  streets  all  around  the  public  building.  There 
is  presented  the  necessity  of  enlarging  the  market  space,  of 
giving  to  it  a  greater  dignity  that  shall  be  in  keeping  with  its 
present  surroundings,  or  of  finding  a  new  place  for  the  market. 

To  enlarge  the  present  site  would  involve  exceedingly 
heavy  expense,  and  the  act  would  be  of  doubtful  civic  wisdom, 
for  the  best  market,  if  it  be  large,  is  difficult  to  keep  clean,  is 
unpleasant  to  traverse,  blocks  traffic,  and  is  not  the  most  de- 
sirable neighbor  to  high-class  property — business,  official,  and 
residential.  Yet  here  is  a  small  property  distinctly  dedicated  to 
market  purposes,  of  little  other  real  use,  and  undoubtedly  very 
convenient  to  many  people. 

I  recommend  that  by  ordinance  the  use  of  this  market 
be  restricted  to  genuinely  retail  garden  produce  business,  and 
that  an  architect  be  retained  to  make  plans  for  an  artistically 
designed  covered  walk,  with  stands  on  either  side,  that  shall 
be  an  ornament  to  the  neighborhood,  in  keeping  with  the  city's 
official  quarter,  and  worthy  of  the  municipal  proprietorship. 
With  little  white  pillars  and  a  red  tiled  roof,  for  example,  it 
could  be  made  very  attractive ;  and  by  the  free  use  of  concrete 
exceedingly  easy  to  keep  clean.  Such  a  walk  would  make  a 
not  unpleasant  promenade,  after  market  hours,  on  stormy,  or 
hot  sunny  days,  from  the  City  Hall  to  Washington  Street. 

As  to  the  cost,  the  city  has  the  land,  with  no  need 
at  present  to  use  it  for  , other  purposes;  the  one-story 
shelter  would  require  little  capital  to  build,  and  the  rental 
of  the  stalls  should  pay  the  interest,  and  a  profit  besides. 
As  to  size,  I  think  that  in  cities  the  retail  public  market  has 


56  Fort  Wayne  Ck'ic  Juiproi'cinoil  .  Issociafioii 

seen  its  best  days.  'I'his  has  l)ecn  tlic  experience  of  more  than 
one  munici]:)ahty — the  use  of  the  teleplione,  the  relatively  low 
prices  offered  in  larg-e  private  markets,  the  Inisier  lives  of 
women,  tlie  distance  which  wage  earners  are  now  likely  to  live 
from  the  market,  liaw  all,  no  doubt,  proved  contributing"  fac- 
tors to  this  result.  I  dn  not  l)elieve  that  it  would  be  wise  to  as- 
sume heavy  munici])al  expense  for  the  ])rovision  of  a  large  re- 
tail ])ublic  market. 

The  bulkier  and  wholesale  public  market  business,  how- 
ever, continues  as  a  trade  necessity.  If  it  can  be  located  within 
a  reasonably  convenient  distance  of  the  business  section,  and 
yet  not  directly  in  its  path,  there  is  very  great  advantag'e. 
For  the  accommodation  of  this  I  suggest  the  gradual  prepara- 
tion of  the  land,  which  is  already  city  property,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  across  the  Van  Ruren  Street 
bridge.  A  pumping  station  occupies  a  few  square  feet,  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  large  area  is  now  vacant.' 

There  may  be  immediate  objection  that  the  tract  is  too  far 
away  and  that  it  would  be  an  admirable  park  site  for  the  north 
side.  With  reference  to  the  latter  point,  the  section  north  and 
east  of  it  is  less  than  half  a  mile  from  T.awton  Park,  which  has 
been  already  developed  as  a  park,  which  can  be  very  much 
better  developed  than  it  now  is,  and  which,  being  of  larger 
size,  is  far  preferable  as  a  park.  1"he  section  southwest  and 
northwest  of  the  tract  is  within  a  half  mile  of  Swinney  Park, 
regarding  which  the  same  comments  apply.  The  subway  be- 
neath the  Lake  Shore  tracks  would  be  as  useful  an  approach 
to  the  market  as  it  could  be  to  the  park.  The  city  cannot  turn 
all  its  property  into  parks,  and  when  we  come  to  discuss  the 
general  ])ark  ])ossibilities  we  shall  see  why  other  pieces  of 
property  are  preferable  to  this  for  additional  park  purposes. 

As  to  market  availability,  other  cities  have  found  a  con- 
siderable advantage  in  locating  such  a  market  on  a  railroad  line, 
as  this  site  is.  In  distance,  it  is  only  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  Court  House,  which,  for  the  suggested  wholesale 
business,  is  close  enougli   to  the  center  of  the  city,  excellent 


Fort  Wayne  Ck't'c  Fiiif^roT'CDiciif  .Issocialion  57 

streets  connecting  it.  Bounded  by  railroad  and  river  on  two 
sides,  its  location  is  such  as  not  to  injure  the  neighborhood. 
It  is  most  accessible  to  leading  coiuitry  highways  north  and 
west,  and  is  as  readily  reached  by  all  other  country  roads  as 
is  the  present  site ;  and  as  there  naturally  would  be  included  in 
it  a  provision  for  enough  retail  business  to  satisfy  the  local  de- 
mand, it  is  worth  while  to  note  that  the  proposed  location  is  in 
the  sort  of  a  home  section  that  would  be  most  likely  to  value 
a  public  retail  market.  In  short,  this  site  would  locate  the 
market  where  there  never  can  be  a  neighborhood  objection  to 
it,  on  a  site  sufficiently  convenient  to  the  merchants,  who  would 
be  its  principal  patrons,  on  a  site  of  good  size,  and  on  one 
publicly  owned,  and  for  which  other  equally  good  public  use 
cannot  readily  be  found. 

The  preparation  of  this  site,  if  undertaken  all  at  once, 
would  be  costly,  liut  a  beginning  will  not  cost  nnicli,  and  after 
that  the  work  can  go  on  gradually,  liefore  this  Luul  can  be 
put  to  use  for  anv  purpose — i.  e.,  before  the  city's  considerable 
investment  here  can  be  made  to  give  returns  in  any  way — a 
dyke  will  have  to  be  built.  Common  business  sense  suggests 
that  this  be  done.  When  the  dike  has  been  constructed,  the 
city  can  throw  the  ground  open  for  dumping,  and  in  a  wonder- 
fully short  time  the  site  will  be  found  ready  for  the  market. 
With  its  development  for  that  purpose,  and  the  growth  of 
population  in  its  neighborhood,  there  is  no  question  that  a  local 
retail  business  in  garden  produce  would  be  done  there.  /\nd 
to  such  extent  as  it  is  done  there  the  present  market  will  be 
relieved. 


58  Forf  JVayiic  Civic  Improvement  Association 

RESIDENCE  Streets. 


Fort  Wayne's  residence  streets  are  better  than  its  busi- 
ness thoroughfares.  This  does  not  only  mean  that  they  are 
pleasanter  to  see,  as  should  be  expected,  but  tliat  they  arc  bet- 
ter adapted  to  their  purpose.  The  poor  rule  of  ])l:itting-  nearly  all 
streets  to  a  unif(jrni  width,  regardless  of  the  traffic  they  are 
likely  to  carry,  has  persisted  with  them  as  it  has  elsewhere ; 
but  it  does  less  harm  in  the  residence  section  than  in  the  busi- 
ness. This  is  because  for  residence  purposes  the  streets  are 
almost  always  wide  enough  from  lot  line  to  lot  line,  while  by 
means  of  parking— that  is,  putting  grass  between  walk  and 
curb — the  roadways  can  be  narrowed  as  much  as  desired. 

Generally  speaking,  the  city's  residence  streets  are  well 
paved  and  their  pavements  are  kept  fairly  clean.  The  recent 
activity  in  sidewalk  building  has  given  them  good  walks, 
though  a  mistake  has  been  made  in  constructing"  walks  that  in 
many  cases  are  too  wide.  On  West  Jefferson  Street,  for 
instance,  a  six-foot  walk — which  is  the  walk  of  usual  width 
for  a  residence  street — would     have     been     sufficient.     Some 


An  interesting  photograph  of  a  street  in  Toronto,  in    which   on  one  side  the  walk  is  given  a  strip 

of  parking  and  on  the  other  is  next  the  curb.      Though  in  the  picture  the  perspective  is 

misleading,  the  distance  from  lot  line    to   curb    is    the    same    in    either    case. 

IVhich  side  of  the  street  is  handsomest  ? 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  hnprovcuicnt  Association  59 


A  sample  of  tree-lopping  on  a  street  in  Fort  Wayne 


6o  fori  Jl'iiyiir  Civic  hiipro^'einciif  Association 

money  could  tluis  have  been  saved  and  a  better  looking  street 
would  have  been  secured.  It  is  a  rare  residence  street  that 
needs  a  paved  sidewalk  of  more  than  six  feet  width,  (jn 
Jackson,  and  a  few  other  streets,  the  walk  has  been  laid  next  to 
the  curb,  and  such  space  as  was  left  for  street  lawn  has  been 
thrown  into  lot  lawn.  This  is  a  mistake  in  jnds^ment  that  one 
rarely  hnds  nowadays.  The  aesthetic  loss  must  be  obvious  to 
anybody  who  compares  such  a  street  with  one  havint;"  a  rib- 
bon of  greensward  along  each  curb.  lUit  objection  to  the  ])lan 
is  not  based  on  a])pearance  alone.  The  walk's  location  next  to 
the  curb  leaves  pedestrians  with  no  i)rotecting  barrier  from 
mud  and  dust;  and  the  addition  which  is  seeminglv  made  to 
private  i)ro])erty  is  subtracted  from  public  propertv.  With  the 
exception,  however,  of  these  faults,  the  parking  strips  on  the 
residence  streets  of  Fort  Wayne  are  excellent.  I  have  not  often 
been  able  to  dismiss  them  with  so  little  comment. 

Idle  trees  are,  and  ought  in  even  larger  measure  to  be,  the 
glory  of  a  city's  residence  streets,  lint  in  I'^ort  Wayne  they 
show  the  want  of  responsible  and  consistent  care.  For  the  best 
street  etTect  they  should  be  evenly  and  generouslv 
s]iaced,  they  should  on  any  clearly  defined  street 
unit  be  of  a  single  variety;  they  should  have  that 
l)rotection  from  linemen,  advertisers,  disease  and  pests 
which  only  niunicii)al  control  and  expert  knowledge 
can  insure.  One  of  the  most  important  actions  Fort  Wayne 
can  take,  to  make  the  city  better  to  live  in  and  to  look  at,  is  to 
secure  a  comix-tent  forester.  He  may  act  under  the  Board  of 
lAiblic  W^orks,  under  the  Park  Commission,  or  in  a  separate 
bureau  ;  but  in  any  case  his  position  ought  to  be  absolutely 
divorced  from  politics.  Ordinances,  it  may  be  added,  will  not 
save  the  trees,  unless  there  is  an  official  fearlessly  and  wisely 
to  enforce  the  ordinances. 

The  residence  streets  are  marred  by  multitudes  of  poles. 
( )f  course  to  considerable  extent  this  must  be  exjiected.  but 
in  Fort  Wayne  there  is  not  much  need  of  it.  The  cit\'s  alkw 
system   is   so  complete   and   excellent    that    llie   wires   can    well 


Fort  U'iiyiic  Cii'ic  Tiuf^roi'cincut  .Issocidtioii  C)\ 

be  carried  throui;li  tlicni.  Tf  this  liad  no  other  advantage,  it 
would  at  least  save  the  street  trees.  Many  trees  of  slow  but 
beautiful  natural  growth  have  been  ruined  by  topping,  in  order 
that  they  may  not  interfere  with  wires.  But  in  the  life  of  the  city 
the  wires  strung  over  the  streets  on  poles  present  a  temporary 
condition,  and  it  is  foll\-  to  destroy  the  relatively  permanent 
Ijcauty  of  trees  that  the  convenience  of  the  moment  may  be 
satisfied.  Further,  the  side  parking,  in  its  prevalence  and  very 
excellence,  gives  opportunity,  even  where  there  is  no  alley,  for 
burying"  wires  at  relatively  little  cost,  since  it  becomes  unneces- 
sary to  rip  up  pavements.  The  southern  section  of  Fairfield 
Avenue  in  particular  is  a  noble  street,  so  handsomely  paved  and 
curbed,  and  so  enriched  with  beautiful  lawns  representing  heavy 
private  expenditure,  that  it  is  absurd  to  allow  it  to  be  marred 
by  great  poles  burdened  with  countless  wires.  Incongruous, 
too,  on  this  street  is  the  cheap  and  flimsy  method  of  suspending 
the  street  lights.    They  should  have  good  standards. 

Private  lawns  contribute  particularly  to  the  beauty  of 
Fort  Wayne  streets  because  of  the  general  absence  of  front 
fences  and  a  considerable  absence  of  line  fences,  in  front  of  the 
dwelling  line.  This  is  one  of  the  charms  of  the  city  and  is 
to  be  encouraged  and  made  even  more  universally  the  rule. 
Omission  or  removal  of  fences  is  a  simple  thing  for  the  house- 
holders, saving  rather  than  costing  money,  and  in  the  act  lies, 
in  American  cities,  one  of  the  secrets  of  beautiful  street  and 
city  making.  The  humblest  homes,  even  though  lawns  be  un- 
planted  save  with  grass,  gain  a  certain  simple  dignity  that  is 
pleasing",  if  they  be  set  back  from  the  walk  and  left  unenclosed 
l)y  fences.  Back  of  the  front  building  line,  there  may  be  all  the 
privacy  one  wants  :  and  with  Fort  Wayne's  deep  lots  quite  as 
much  garden  as  most  city  dwellers  have  inclination  and  time 
to  care  for. 

It  is  a  pity  that  with  deep  lots  the  houses  are  so  often  put 
close  to  the  street.  On  some  of  the  older  thoroughfares  they 
are  almost  at  the  walk  line.  Apart  from  the  greater  comfort 
and  attractiveness  for  those  who  live  in  the  dwelling,  if  it  be 


62 


I' art  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


located  well  l)ack  from  the  street,  there  is  the  greater  beauty 
imparted  to  the  thoroughfare  by  the  increased  width  such  ac- 
tion seems  to  contribute  to  the  street ;  and  the  appearance  of 
greater  size  and  consequent  value  given  to  the  property  itself. 
For  when  the  house  is  close  u])on  the  street  the  passer  is  prone 
to  assume  that  shallowness  of  lot  is  the  explanation. 

This  setting-  of  houses  forward  when  lots  are  deep  is  not, 
however,  an  unusual  phenomenon.  And  it  has  had  always  the 
same  meaning,  which  is  one  of  sinister  import  to  the  city  where 
it  is  fotmd.     It  means  a  tendency  to  use  for  additional  housing 


Simple  homes  dignified  by  a  selling  of  unenclosed  fronl  lawns.     A  sireet  in  Fori   Wayne. 

the  back  of  the  lot  with  alley  frontage.  Tenement  and  slum 
conditions  have  their  worst  development  under  such  circum- 
stances, as  the  investigations  lately  made  in  Washington  and 
St.  Louis  conclusively  prove.  The  beauty  of  the  one  city  and 
national  interest  in  its  development,  and  the  unusual  civic 
pride  and  spirit  of  the  other,  were  no  i)roof  against  the  creation 
of  breeding  spots  of  disease  and  crime  in  the  houses  on  the 
backs  of  lots.  Removed  from  the  cleansing  glare  of  pub- 
licity, they  become  difficult  to  watch  and  control. 


Foi't  JVay>ic  Civic  Improvement  Assoeiation  63 

So  long-  as  alleys  are  used  for  legitimate  alley  purposes — 
that  is,  for  what  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  the  backdoor 
service  of  street-fronting  houses  and  buildings — they  are  a 
valuable  feature  of  the  city  plan.  When  dwellings  are  con- 
structed to  face  on  them,  they  become  a  serious  menace.  The 
President's  Homes  Commission,  reporting  on  Washington's 
alley  conditions  to  President  Roosevelt,  said :  "By  far  the  best 
way  to  do  with  alley  houses  is  to  do  away  with  the  alleys  by 
converting  them  into  minor  streets."  The  commission  calls  at- 
tention not  only  to  the  difificulty  of  supervision,  but  to  the  dan- 
ger of  having  "scattered  through  the  heart  of  the  city"  and 
"really  in  very  close  contact  with  the  best  residences  of  the 
city,"  the  sort  of  population  that  is  most  likely  to  be  found  in 
alley  dwellings.  As  to  the  means  of  converting  alleys  into 
minor  streets,  the  legal  and  economic  aspects  of  the  question 
and  the  examples  of  England  and  Germany  in  handling  a  like 
problem,  I  shall  do  best  to  refer  you  to  the  long  report  of  the 
Homes  Commission — to  be  obtained  free  on  application — with 
its  full  discussion.  The  danger  may  not  seem  to  you  serious 
yet  in  Fort  Wayne ;  but  it  threatens  and  is  sure  to  develop  if 
not  checked. 

Turning  from  the  general  to  the  particular,  I  shall  re- 
serve most  of  my  suggestions  for  special  residence  streets  to 
that  portion  of  the  Report  which  will  deal  with  the  parks  and 
their  connections.  The  jog  in  Lewis  Street,  where  Hanna 
crosses  it,  is  unsightly  and  even  dangerous ;  but  can  be  quite 
easily  corrected  if  action  be  taken  promptly.  The  jog  in  Fair- 
field Avenue  at  Brackenridge  crossing  is  very  unfortunate,  a 
long  handsome  street  seeming  to  terminate  as  one  goes  north, 
in  the  hideous  brick  wall  of  a  two-story  building.  If  one  gets 
around  the  corner  of  that  building  the  avenue  stretches  at- 
tractively on  again.  Such  instances  as  these  should  give  back- 
bone to  city  officials  in  refusing  to  accept,  in  the  new  additions, 
streets  that  do  not  properly  connect  with  existing  thorough- 
fares. The  beauty  and  convenience  of  the  community  as  a 
whole  should  be  recognized  as  paramount  to  the  profit  of  in- 


64  r'ort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

dividual  landholders.  The  more  progressive  cities  are  now,  in 
the  better  appreciation  of  city-planning,  quite  commonly  tak- 
ing such  a  stand.  But  this  only  applies,  I  should  hasten  to  add, 
to  streets,  as  that  term  is  usually  understood.  It  does  not  apply 
to  those  semi-public  "Places"  that,  in  their  very  informality 
and  picturesqucness,  may  lend  charming  distinction  to  a  resi- 
dential section. 

At  the  intersection  of  East  Creighton  and  South  Hanna 
Streets,  the  location  of  the  Lutheran  church  is  very  fine.    The 


1 

1 
1 

^^^VC3H^^^^^^^^0^H 

:,   -., 

-^., 

A  church  [in  Massachusetts'  that  has  tittle  garden  space,  but  has  made  that  little  beautiful 
with  planting. 

view  through  Creighton  Avenue  of  its  slender  spire  is  one  of 
the  best  things  in  Fort  Wayne.  It  conveys  a  suggestion  that 
has  wide  application  and  should  be  heeded.  But  generally 
speaking,  the  churches  of  Fort  Wayne  have  not  that  attractive 
landscape  setting  which  usually  can  be  given  to  even  the  sim- 
plest church  on  the  commonplace  lot,  and  which  ought  to  be 
given  if  our  religion  means  anything. 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  65 

The  school  yards,  too,  should  be  better  developed.  They 
are  scattered  throughout  the  residence  district  and,  as  the 
most  numerous  and  most  widely  distributed  bits  of  public 
property,  should  set  an  example  of  adaptation  to  purpose,  of 
neatness,  and  of  so  much  beauty  as  is  compatible  with  their 
use  for  play.  In  area,  most  of  the  Fort  Wayne  school  yards  are 
too  small ;  and  it  should  be  reflected  that  if  they  are  not  large 
enough  to  g'ive  play  space  to  the  children,  they  are  hardly  worth 
their  cost.  Economy  would  suggest,  in  such  case,  their  elimin- 
ation altogether — a  backward  step  in  popular  education  which 
no  city,  however  poor  in  purse  or  spirit,  now  considers — or 
making  them  adequate.  Just  as  authorities  have  determined 
the  minimum  amount  of  cubic  air  per  pupil  which  a  school 
room  should  provide,  so  it  is  agreed  that  at  least  thirty  square 
feet  per  pupil  should  be  given  in  the  school  grounds.  The 
compactness  with  which  Fort  Wayne  is  built,  comprising  as  it 
does  a  general  playground  argument,  makes  particularly  neces- 
sary the  adequacy  of  the  school  yards. 

In  the  more  outlying  districts,  the  school  yard  should  be 
large  enough  for  school  gardens.  A  great  deal  is  being  done  in 
this  direction,  often  under  conditions  less  favorable  than  at 
Fort  Wayne ;  and  a  great  deal  of  helpful  material  has  been 
printed  on  the  subject,  including  publications  by  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture.  In  fact  the  Association  of 
City  and  Town  Superintendents  of  Indiana  issued  some  years 
ago  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  which  is  full  of  suggestion. 

Not  only  should  the  school  yards  as  a  class  be  larger,  but, 
I  have  said,  they  should  be  pleasanter  to  look  upon.  The  fine 
High  School,  for  instance,  is  a  striking  example.  What  citizen 
would  put  up  a  house  of  such  value,  or  even  a  good  looking 
factory,  and  not  improve  the  grounds?  There  should  at  the 
very  least  be  shrubs  on  the  Lewis  Street  corners,  and  on  either 
side  of  the  Lewis  Street  entrance.  I  append  photographs  giv- 
ing an  idea  of  the  setting  of  a  high  school  in  Cambridge,  Mass., 
and  this  is  a  fair  example. 


66 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


In  Chicago,  $150,000  is  being  expended  tiiis  year  simply 
in  the  adornment  of  schoolyards.  Flowers  and  shrubs  are 
placed  around  the  borders  and  against  the  building,  where  they 
trespass  on  no  play  space.  But  it  may  be  added  that  the  work, 
which  has  been  in  progress  there  for  years,  is  exceedingly 
popular  with  the  children  themselves,  a  rivalry  in  beauty  of 
grounds  growing  up  among  the  schools  that  have  been  thus 
improved.     That  there  is  set  an  example  and  stimulus  to  the 


High  School  Grounds,  Cambridge,  Mass. 


neighborhood,  that  the  school  becomes  an  inviting  center  and 
that  the  child  unconsciously  learns  to  appreciate  beauty,  are 
facts  that  need  no  telling.  It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that 
among  the  smaller  public  buildings  of  Fort  Wayne  the  fire- 
houses  are  set  in  more  attractively-kept  lots  than  are  the  schools 
— though  the  latter  are  supposed  to  stand  for  and  to  raise  the 
comnuuiity's  ideals  of  culture. 


Fort  ]]'aync  Civic  Improvement  Association 


67 


Very  beautiful  is  the  residential  tract  developed  east  of 
Hoagland  Avenue,  between  Pontiac  and  Killea  Streets.  Here 
a  lovely  grove  was  not  ruthlessly  cut  down,  that  bare  lots 
might  be  created,  and  characterless  streets  put  through  to  be 
])lanted  laboriously  with  stripling  trees.  But  with  only  a  little 
thinning  the  grove  was  left  to  make  for  city  homes  an  ideal 
setting  and  to  offer  in  its  beauty  and  success  an  example  to 
owners  of  other  such  tracts.    To  an  inspiring  but  almost  dan- 


High  School  Grounds,  Cambridge,  .Mass. 


gerous  extent  the  development  of  the  City  Beautiful  and 
Pleasant  lies  with  the  owners  of  such  residential  tracts,  as 
from  time  to  time  these  come  into  the  market.  That  they 
should  do  as  was  done  in  this  case,  and  as  seems  now  to  be 
promised  in  the  new  Lakeside  district,  cannot  be  too  strongly 
urged.  In  fact,  the  charming  curving  way,  with  its  varying 
play  of  light  and  shadow — now  so  little  known  in  Fort  Wayne 
— cries  out  for  development. 


68  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

IMPROVEMENT   OF  THE    PARKS. 


Discussion  of  P'ort  Wayne's  parks,  playgrounds  and  park 
approaches,  may  properly  be  divided  into  two  sections.  In  the 
first  we  will  consider  the  improvement  of  what  Fort  Wayne  al- 
ready has  in  this  line ;  in  the  second,  the  additions  that  are 
needed  in  order  to  develop  out  of  the  present  isolated  units  a 
system. 

It  is  well  to  recognize  at  once  the  two-fold  function  and 
character  of  this  kind  of  city  property.  Most  persons  will  say 
that  a  park  is  designed  to  be  beautiful.  So  it  is,  but  its  purpose 
is  also  actively  to  serve.  Passive  beauty  alone  must  not  be  the 
end  sought  in  the  system  as  a  whole,  and  in  an  industrial  city 
particularly — much  more,  for  example,  than  in  a  capital  city — 
there  is  need  that  the  park  system  furnish  recreative  facilities. 
So  the  "improvement"  of  existing  park  lands  ought  not  to  deal 
simply  with  their  landscape  development. 

Moreover,  in  presenting  many  suggestions  as  to  the  latter, 
I  would  have  it  understood  that  these  are  not  to  take  the  place 
of  a  carefully  worked  out  landscape  design.  That  is  a  neces- 
sity for  every  park,  however  little  or  however  large.  The 
smallest  and  least  expensive  park  in  Fort  Wayne  occupies  land 
worth  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  No  intelligent  citizen 
would  consider  the  construction  of  a  house  having  the  money 
value  of  one  of  the  parks  without  first  securing  from  an  archi- 
tect a  plan  to  build  to.  Yet  it  were  better  to  do  that  than  to  at- 
tempt to  make  a  park  without  a  competently  ]irepared  design. 
For  the  house  might  have  to  satisfy  only  himself,  while  the 
park  should  satisfy  the  best  taste  of  the  whole  community ;  and 
if  a  door,  or  window,  or  partition  in  the  house  proved  unsatis- 
factory, it  could  be  more  quickly  changed  than  can  a  great 
tree,  or  a  lake,  or  forest  or  meadow  land.  Finally,  in  a  score  or 
so  of  years  the  house  might  be  replaced ;  the  park  is  built  for 
centuries.     To  create  a  landscape  is  as  technical  a  process  as  to 


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build  a  house ;  and  if  one  does  not  attempt  the  latter  in  happy- 
go-lucky  fashion,  even  for  himself,  one  certainly  should  not 
thus  attempt  the  former  for  his  own  and  following  generations. 
The  suggestions  I  shall  make  have  as  their  purpose,  then,  the 
showing  that  present  conditions  are  not  by  any  means  ideal, 
that  it  isn't  unnecessary  and  isn't  too  late,  to  secure  careful 
study  and  expert  design,  which  may  guide  for  many  years  to 
come. 


Sheep  and  shepherd  on  a  park  meadow. 

Beginning  with  Swinney  Park,  and  approaching  it  by 
Washington  Boulevard,  the  entrance  is  disappointing  and  un- 
worthy. You  are  driving  out  a  beautiful  residence  street 
which  is  to  terminate,  you  are  told,  in  the  principal  park. 
Suddenly  the  fine  street  is  blocked  by  some  trees  and  bushes, 
which  grow  directly  across  it  and  only  partially  hide  the  view 
of  a  stretch  of  low  waste  land  beyond  the  practically  invisible 
river.    As  you  search  for  the  park,  you  see  a  road  that  leads 


70  Fort  Wayne  Civic  luiprovcment  Association 

off  somewhere  to  the  left,  and  surmise  that  thither  may  He  the 
way.  But  the  fact  is,  you  are  ahxady  in  Swinney  Park.  You 
ought  to  know  this  and  dehght  in  it.  A  dreadful  suggestion 
has  been  made  that  an  electric  sign  be  thrown  across  the  end 
of  the  street  at  this  point,  with  the  words  "Swinney  Park"— 
why  not,  rather,  "This  Is  It,"  with  a  pointing  hand? — so  that 
one  may  know  it.  P>ut  tlie  right  thing  to  do  is  to  create  there  a 
beautiful  park-landscape,  picture,  that  will  not  require  a  label. 

That  waste  land  across  the  river,  flooded  every  spring, 
has  almost  no  other  value  than  as  a  background  to  such  a  pic- 
ture. The  city  should  get  it,  should  make  of  it  a  park  meadow 
— browsing  sheep  would  add  life  and  interest  to  it  in  the  sum- 
mer and  would  keep  the  grass  cut  for  nothing  a  year — and  with 
wildllower  border  the  meadow  and  river  could  meet.  Then 
there  would  not  be  need  to  block  Washington  Boulevard  with 
an  ineffectual  screen  of  shrubs.  There  would  be  at  once  a  sense 
of  openness  and  spaciousness,  a  real  park  scene,  at  the  street's 
end.  And  two  tall  trees — spruces,  perhaps — standing  on  either 
side  of  the  boulevard  terminus,  would  frame  the  picture  and 
mark  the  entrance.  Then  the  road  that  curves  away  to  the 
left  would  not  seem,  as  now,  an  insignificant  by-path ;  but 
would  take  its  rightful  place  as  obviously  a  park  drive. 

Further  within  the  park,  the  lake,  which  ought  to  be  a 
landscape  feature  of  great  beauty,  fails  now  to  please.  What  I 
shall  say  of  this  lake  applies  as  well  to  that  in  Reservoir  Park. 
Did  you  ever  see  their  like  in  nature — or  anywhere  outside  a 
barnyard?  A  pool  with  canal-bank  shores  is  not  the  proper 
landscape  ideal — not  even  with  an  island  in  it.  I  have  seen 
children  make  a  sort  of  mud-pie  island  in  the  middle  of  a 
water-filled  excavation  in  the  seashore  sand,  and  then  stick  a 
few  twigs  on  the  island,  with  an  effect  quite  like  that  at  Res- 
ervoir Park.  Now,  the  Park  Commissioners  are  not  the  ones 
to  blame.  They  are  serving  the  citizens  with  self-sacrificing 
interest,  and  undoubtedly  in  their  study  of  the  parks  have  al- 
ready made  to  themselves  the  criticisms  here  submitted.  But 
they  are  not  landscape  architects ;  their  lives  have  been  given 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  dissociation  yi 

to  other  subjects;  their  duties  are  properly  administrative. 
The  people  have  no  right  to  hold  them  responsible  for  land- 
scape failings  if  they  are  not  given  the  money  with  which  to 
retain  expert  advice  and  with  which  to  make  the  purchases 
needed  to  round  out  park  properties.  A  shore  line,  of  which 
the  irregularity  shall  be  emphasized  by  the  planting;  where  the 
neatness  of  water  lapped  greensward  shall  alternate  with  the 
charming  forgetfulness  of  wading  iris,  and  with  the  shadows 
of  willows  and  overhanging  shrubs — such  a  shore  line,  broken 


A   natural  looking  shoreline  in  one  of  the  parks  of  Boston.      This  has  all  been  planted. 


by  bays  that  are  pictures  in  themselves,  and  with  an  island  that 
speaks  of  romance  and  seclusion,  these  are  not  things  that  suc- 
cessful business  men  can  create  offhand  with  the  aid  of  day 
labor.  Trustees  of  a  library  are  not  expected  to  write,  even 
though  granted  stenographers,  the  poems  which  the  public  go 
to  the  library  to  find. 

One  of  the  purposes  of  a  park  is  "to  provide  relief  and  re- 
pose to  city-wearied  senses."    Yet  at  the  south  end  of  Swinney 


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Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


Park,  the  trains  that  arc  constantly  thundering  past  are  uncon- 
cealed. And  not  only  that,  but  they  are  on  an  embankment 
which  has  the  effect  of  placing  them  on  a  stage,  and  so  of 
making  them  an  even  more  dominant  feature  than  they  other- 
wise would  be.  This  is  destructive  to  "relief  and  repose." 
Neither  railroad  nor  park  is  to  be  given  up,  but  the  railroad 
can  be  hidden  by  planting.  At  Edgewater  Park  in  Cleveland, 
precisely  a  like  condition  was  presented,  and  I  append  a  photo- 
graph to  show  how  it  was  met.  There  is  no  necessity  that  the 
railroad  should  be  seen  from  Swinney  Park. 


How  the  railroad  is  effectually  screened  at  Edgewater  Park  in  Cleveland. 

At  the  north  end,  where,  in  the  shadow  of  big  trees,  the 
murmuring  river  in  its  sweep  around  three  sides  resistlessly 
calls  one  to  the  shore,  the  view  presented  is  of  a  near  oppo- 
site bank  cluttered  with  rubbish  and  outhouses.  If  one  goes 
across  the  river  to  investigate  conditions,  he  finds  that  the 
most  unsightly  of  the  properties  front  on  Main  Street,  and  are 
lots  of  such  shallowness  that  better  development  could  hardly 
be  expected,  while  the  money  value  of  the  narrow,  steeply 
sloping  strip  of  land  must  be  relatively  slight.    To  acquire  and 


Fort  Wayne  Ck'ic  hnpvoveinent  Association 


73 


make  beautiful  that  river  bank  would,  therefore,  confer  benefit 
in  more  than  one  direction.  It  would  substitute  beauty  for 
wretchedness  in  a  park  outlook,  it  would  redeem  a  section  of 
Main  Street  for  which  there  is  no  other  hope,  and  it  would 
bring  the  park  into  touch  with  Alain  Street. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  opposite  bank  of  a  park 
bordered  stream  as  narrow  as  the  St.  Mary's  river  is  scenic- 
ally  just  as  important  as  the  near  bank.  It  is  the  frame  to  the 
picture — indeed  it.  more  than  the  park  in  which  one  stands,  is 
the  picture,  the  open  stream  putting  it  in  clear  view  and  making 


An  island  in   Wade  Park,  Cleveland,  that  is  a  tangle  of  wild  rose  and  other  bloom. 

it  the  thing  one  looks  at.  Setting  out  to  create  a  beautiful  gal- 
lery, one  would  not  think  that  the  lovely  rug  under  one's  feet 
would  excuse  bare  or  hideously  daubed  walls.  The  hanging  of 
the  walls  with  beautiful  pictures  is  certainly  no  less  import- 
ant than  the  rug.  So  in  a  park,  not  the  place  on  which  one 
stands  so  much  as  the  thing  one  looks  at,  counts.  Yet  at 
Swiimey  Park  there  seems  to  have  been  little  thought  of  the 
outlook.    For  the  park's  sake,  to  preserve  to  it  the  beauty  which 


74 


I'oji  H'ayiw  t'ivic  Iiiiprovcniciil  .Issocialioti 


is  its  riglit,  the  park  boundaries  should  lie  over  the  crest  of 
the  further  shore,  not  where  Main  Street  alone  is  border,  but  as 
far  as  the  river  circles.  For  the  most  part,  such  addition 
would  now  cost  very  little. 

A  mean  little  iron-girder  foot-bridge  leads  from  the  grove 
to  the  opposite  tableland.  From  a  section  of  West  Main 
Street  from  which  one  could  almost  throw  a  stone  into  Swin- 
nev  Park,  one  must  now,  if  he  would  enter  the  park  by  vehicle, 
drive  a  full  mile.     1^)  a  ra])i(ll\'  (k'vcl()])ing  section  of  the  city. 


The  frame  of  a  Iandscape_picture,  Swinnetj  Park,  Fori   Wayne. 


this  is  not  the  degree  of  accessibility  which  the  park  invest- 
ment warrants.  If  one  will  walk,  he  can  enter  the  park  at 
closer  distance  by  the  iron  foot-bridge — and  in  so  doing  fancy 
that  he  is  crossing  a  moat  to  enter  a  dungeon.  But  such  is  not 
the  impression  which  a  park  entrance  ought  to  convey.  That 
a  new  bridge,  and  one  which  is  wide  enough  for  driving,  is 
needed  here,  is  manifest.  A  suggestion  that  it  might  be  of 
concrete,  I  cannot  endorse  with  enthusiasm.  Concrete  bridges 
are  essentially  architectural  compositions  and  any  formalism 


Port  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  75 

here,  where  one  terminus  would  be  a  quiet  residence  street 
and  the  other  a  shadowy  wood,  could  be  only  a  false  note. 
The  required  length  is  not  great,  and  a  rustic-seeming  wooden 
bridge  is  practicable  and  probably  would  blend  better  with  the 
environment. 

With  good  city  planning  a  few  years  ago,  the  streets  at 
the  end  of  the  foot-bridge,  in  the  bend  of  the  river  south  of 
West  Main  Street,  would  have  been  given  high-class  residen- 
tial development.  Even  now  the  conditions  will  no  doubt  be 
greatly  improved  with  the  building  of  an  attractive  and  ade- 
quate entrance  here  to  the  park,  with  the  acquirement  for  park 
purposes — as  proposed  in  discussing  the  Washington  Boule- 
vard approach — of  the  low  land  at  the  apex  of  the  triangle, 
and  with  the  development  of  Bluff  Street.  For,  with  the  little 
tract  thus  park-bordered  on  three  sides,  protected  absolutely 
from  encroachment  of  any  unwelcome  kind,  it  will  become 
a  natural  extension  to  the  high-class  residence  section  to  the 
east  of  the  river.  That  section  is  already  finding  itself  cramped 
and  needing  such  place  for  overflow.  This  tract,  too,  is  in 
convenient  touch  with  a  business  street  on  which  is  a  direct 
car  line  to  the  center  of  the  city.  With  the  suggested  changes 
the  tract  should  furnish  home  sites  that  will  be  greatly 
esteemed. 

As  to  Swinney  Park,  we  should  note  what  a  bridge  ade- 
quate for  driving  will  mean  to  the  park,  if  placed  here.  It  will 
mean  that  persons  entering  the  park  by  Garden  Street  or 
Washington  Boulevard  and  circling  through  the  grove  will 
not  need  to  leave  it  as  they  entered,  simply  retracing  their 
steps.  There  will  be  created  a  loop  drive.  Having  taken  the 
present  park  circuit,  they  can  cross  the  bridge,  turn  south 
again,  via  Mechanic  Street,  to  the  suggested  low  meadow, 
skirt  its  northern  edge  by  a  short  link  to  be  constructed,  and 
so  join  Blufif  Street  which,  bordering  the  river  and  almost  a 
parkway  already,  joins  West  Main  at  the  west  end  of  the 
bridge.  As  a  drive  is  now  being  developed  on  the  river's  east 
bank,  from  Washington   Boulevard  to  Berry  Street — one  of 


76  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

the  best  things  ever  done  in  Fort  Wayne — and  is  almost  sure 
to  be  carried  as  far  as  Main,  both  banks  will  here  be  protected 
and  a  complete  park-loop  drive  thus  established. 

With  all  these  changes,  Swinney  Park  would  be  quite  re- 
made from  a  landscape  point  of  view.  Rut  its  function  is  not 
simply  to  be  looked  at,  nor  to  give  pleasure  only  to  those  who 
drive.  It  has,  or  ought  to  have,  an  active  recreative  function. 
There  are  two  admirable  playground  sites.  One  is  at  the 
south  end  of  the  park,  near  the  Garden  Street  entrance.  This 
is  bright  and  sunny ;  the  tract  is  an  independent  composition, 
so  that  no  apparatus  placed  here  would  be  an  intrusion  on  the 
shaded  picture  in  the  river  bend,  and  the  location  is  very  close 
to  the  homes— the  latter  point  an  important  one  in  providing 
for  little  children.  Here,  too,  there  are  admirable  sites  for 
tennis  courts.  The  grove  also  presents  a  playground  possi- 
bility ;  but  m}'  suggestion  would  be  the  encouragement  there 
of  a  quieter  and  less  artificial  kind  of  play.  For  example,  the 
outdoor  gymnastic  apparatus,  the  popular  chute,  or  slide,  for 
little  children  ;  even,  in  my  judgment,  the  sand  boxes,  should 
be  relegated  to  the  south  end  site.  But  what  a  place  is  this  for 
luncheon  under  the  trees,  for  games  of  Prisoners'  Base,  or 
Hide-and-go-seek  among  one's  friends,  for  listening  to  stories 
of  fairies  or  robbers,  for  confidences,  for  reading,  for  solitary 
walk !  I-'or  these  delights  the  grove  presents  a  unique  and 
unusual  attraction. 

I  suggest,  then,  that  the  equipped  and  directed  playground 
be  located  at  the  southeast  end  of  the  park ;  and  that  in  the 
grove  there  be  constructed  a  rustic  refectory,  which  will  har- 
moniously blend  with  the  surroundings.  The  building  might 
be  so  constructed  that  the  piazza,  or  a  section  of  it,  would  on 
occasion  constitute  a  bandstand,  and  speaker's  stand,  the  tall 
trees  in  the  surrounding  grove  being  columns  of  a  natural  audi- 
torium and  their  interlacing  branches  its  vaulted  roof.  The 
refectory  would  serve  as  shelter  in  sudden  storm ;  the  lights, 
suspended  from  its  exterior  walls,  would  make  possible  the 
removal  of  the  hideous  pole  which  now  serves  as  standard; 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  yy 


/S  Fort  JVaync  Civic  Improvement  Association 

the  toilet  facilities  of  the  building  would  eliminate  other  of 
the  park's  objectionable  features,  and  the  plain  wholesome 
food,  the  hot  tea  and  coffee,  the  cool  temperance  drinks,  would 
simplify  picnics,  and  thus  increase  their  number.  The  rental 
of  the  concession  should  pay  at  least  maintenance  and  interest 
charges  on  the  building.  This  being  so,  all  the  convenience 
and  comfort  the  building  brings  would  cost  park  and  public 
nothing. 

My  conception  of  the  use  of  this  part  of  the  grounds  is 
that  many  a  family  picnic  would  gather  here ;  that  thither 
would  come,  from  tlie  formal  playground,  children  tired  of  ex- 
ercise, to  eat  their  lunch,  play  in  the  shade  and  listen  to  stories  ; 
that  children  from  the  West  Main  Street  section — to  whom 
this  portion  of  the  park  would  be  much  nearer  than  would  the 
playground  proper — would  find  here  opportunity  for  play  in 
the  old-fashioned  sense,  with  no  great  walk  to  the  parallel  bars 
and  giant  stride  if  they  sought  for  exercise.  This  would  be  the 
place  for  other  moods  than  those  to  which  sunshine,  bright 
flowers,  and  moving  apparatus  appeal.  For  young  and  old,  to 
come  here  would  mean,  not  getting  tired,  but  getting  rested ; 
and  even  in  their  play  the  children  here  would  scatter  rather 
than  crowd,  while  the  older  folk  would  assemble  in  small 
groups.  As  we  study  the  parks  of  Fort  Wayne  we  shall  note 
their  unusually  excellent  distribution,  such  that  none  is  obliged 
to  serve  the  whole  community,  catering  to  far  gathered  thou- 
sands, but  each  can  pre-eminently  draw  from  and  serve  its 
own  neighborhood — as  this  plan  suggests  that  Swinney  Park 
should  do. 

I  have  spoken  of  Swinney  Park  at  greater  length  than  I 
shall  discuss  the  other  reservations.  It  is  larger  than  any  other, 
has  been  the  most  developed,  and  is  the  most  popular,  and  so  it 
has  served  well  to  illustrate  in  its  shortcomings  and  possi- 
bilities of  a  greater  usefulness,  the  universal  need  of  expert 
planning.  Some  of  the  things  said  of  Swinney  Park  apply  also 
elsewhere;  but  L shall  make  a  few  specific  suggestions, 

Lawton  Park,  which  is  next  in  size  and  completeness  of 


Fort  IVayiie  Civic  Iin[>rovcuicnt  Association  79 

development  to  Swinney,  is,  I  consider,  more  radically  wrong. 
The  adopted  plan  of  development  is  the  most  expensive  that 
can  be  given  to  a  park.  No  city  but  a  very  large  and  rich  one 
could  afford  to  transform  forty  acres  into  a  garden  and  ade- 
quately keep  it  up  with  bedding  plants.  Yet  that  is  the  goal 
which  Fort  Wayne,  with  its  meagre  park  allowance  and  great 
park  needs,  has  set  itself.    Necessarily  there  is  failure. 

The  railroad,  which  a  hedge  of  poplars,  planted  six  or  eight 
feet  apart  on  the  west  side  of  North  Clinton  Street,  would 
easily  hide,  is  in  full  sight ;  the  three  driveways  are  laid  as 
straight  as  engineering  could  make  them,  with  no  grace  of 
curving  line,  no  suggestion  of  loitering,  no  invitation  to  note 
the  border — only  the  unworded  but  positive  injunction,  "Watch 
the  road,  and  get  out  of  the  park  as  quickly  as  possible ;"  the 
small  iron  bridge  that  crosses  Spy  Run  is  almost  as  bad  as  is 
])ossible ;  the  rockery,  which  is  designed  to  be  an  accent  at 
the  end  of  the  bridge,  is  hidden  by  untrimmed  trees ;  and  even 
Spy  Run  is  neglected,  to  appear  according  to  season  as  an 
unfortunate  ditch  or  as  a  roistering  intruder.  Nor,  finally,  is 
the  adopted  style  of  development,  even  though  perfection  were 
attainable,  that  which  would  best  serve  the  neighborhood. 

Lawton  Park  ought  to  be  replanned,  on  an  entirely  differ- 
ent scheme.  A  loyal  and  public-spirited  citizen,  having  the 
means  and  inclination  to  benefit  his  fellows,  could  hardly  do 
for  Fort  Wayne  a  better  or  more  popular  thing  than  to  make 
possible  the  sort  of  development  Lawton  Park  ought  to  have. 
It  is  trite  to  say  that  in  so  doing  he  would  build  himself  a  mon- 
ument to  which  the  years  would  add  only  worth  and  beauty. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  would  be  to  extend  the  area 
of  the  park  to  the  river,  from  Spy  Run  Avenue  to  North  Clin- 
ton Street.  In  the  seeming  this  would  bring  the  park  very 
near  to  the  center  of  the  city,  for  entrance  could  then  be  ar- 
ranged at  almost  the  ends  of  the  bridges  on  Clinton  and  Spy 
Run  Avenues,  doing  away  with  the  necessity  of  traversing 
those  unattractive  and  narrow  streets  in  order  to  reach  the 
park.     North  of  the  river,  those  streets  have  a  width  of  only 


8o  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

fifty  feet — too  little  for  the  normal  traffic  of  such  thorough- 
fares, and  totally  inadequate  to  bear  pleasure  driving  besides. 
The  extension  of  the  park  to  the  corner  of  Clinton  and  Fourth 
Streets,  adding  a  block  only  three  hundred  by  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  is  indeed  so  prime  a  necessity,  even  if  there  be 
no  change  in  the  park's  style  of  development,  that  the  city 
ought  to  do  this  whether  or  not  there  be  dream  or  possibility 
of  better  things.  The  acquirement  and  addition  to  Lawton 
Park  of  that  little  block  is  to  be  counted,  in  fact,  one  of  the 
most  obvious  of  Fort  Wayne's  civic  improvement  needs. 

But  with  the  addition  of  the  low,  flooded,  marshy  lands 
that  now  lie  between  the  park  and  river — lands  to  which  only  a 
long  lapse  of  time  or  large  expense  can  give  commercial  value 
— there  would  open  an  alluring  possibility  of  many  isled 
lagoons,  of  a  beautiful  and  unusual,  and  withal  most  central, 
people's  park,  lovely  at  every  hour,  but  a  veritable  dream  of 
beauty  on  a  moonlight  night.  What  other  Indiana  city  would 
offer  to  its  people  such  a  pleasure  ground,  and  with  what  rea- 
son Fort  Wayne  could  then  make  claim  to  the  title  of  City 
Beautiful ! 

The  lagoons  of  course  involve  a  dam  in  the  river  just  be- 
low. This  would  be  of  the  adjustable  type— such,  for  example, 
as  the  beartrap,  the  needle,  etc. — which,  lying  on  the  river  bed 
at  high  water,  can  be  lifted  when  it  is  desired  to  raise  the 
water's  level.  There  is  no  serious  difficulty  as  to  that.  And 
with  the  park  extended  to  the  river,  there  would  virtually  be 
added  to  its  area  not  only  the  river  area,  in  itself  a  large  and 
useful  addition,  but  the  tract  of  land  which  the  city  already 
owns  on  the  east  side  of  Clinton  Street,  across  from  the  ball 
grounds,  for  very  little  expense  would  extend  the  latter  hold- 
ing to  the  river.  Thus  would  Lawton  Park  be  brought  within 
almost  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  Court  House,  and  made  useful 
and  beautiful. 

Regarding  the  land  which  the  city  now  owns  east  of 
Clinton  Street,  its  greatest  civic  usefulness  would  lie  in  its  de- 
velopment as  an  athletic  field.     Two  other  uses  have  been  pro- 


Fort  JVayjie  Civic  Improvement  Association  8i 

posed :  As  a  market  site,  for  which  purpose  I  understand  that 
it  was  bought,  and  as  a  children's  playground.  For  the  latter 
use  it  seems  to  me  unfitted  by  location.  Most  of  the  children 
would  have  to  be  sent  a  considerable  distance  to  reach  it,  and 
the  journey  would  lie  through  streets  from  which  children  are 
best  kept  out.  Those  approaching  it  from  the  south  would 
have  to  cross  the  railroad,  while  children  coming  from  the 
north — to  whom  Lawton  Park  would  be  much  more  accessible 
— would  have  to  skirt  a  railroad  and  cross  the  river.  At  Des 
Moines,  a  plat  very  similarly  situated — but  much  more  at- 
tractive with  its  big  trees,  and  fully  equipped  by  the  city  with 
apparatus  and  with  an  unusually  good  rest  house — has  now 
been  abandoned  because,  owing  to  such  location,  the  children 
would  not,  or  could  not,  go  to  it.  For  the  market  purposes 
the  tract's  location  is  better  adapted.  But  no  railroad  touches 
it ;  to  place  the  market  here  will  be  to  draw  into  the  now  con- 
gested business  streets  that  sort  of  teaming  which  most  im- 
pedes traffic  and  most  litters  highways ;  it  will  be  to  add  seri- 
ously to  the  congestion  on  fifty  foot  North  Clinton  Street,  and 
on  a  bridge  that  is  too  narrow  now  for  sidewalks,  and  thus  to 
impose  a  greater  barrier  to  the  general  use  of  Lawton  Park. 
It  will  mean,  too,  the  abandonment,  for  the  sake  of  a  market, 
of  the  idea  of  that  larger,  more  beautiful,  and  more  useful 
park  which  would  include  the  river. 

But  the  development  of  municipal  athletic  grounds  on  this 
tract  is  unaffected  by  these  several  objections  to  other  uses  and 
has  much  to  recommend  it — especially,  as  I  have  already  sug- 
gested, the  circumstance  that  this  use  would  practically  annex 
it  to  Lawton  Park,  should  the  latter  be  extended  to  the  river. 
In  an  industrial  city,  provision  for  healthful  outdoor  exercise 
for  employees  is  a  real  necessity,  advisable  for  economic  and 
social  reasons  as  well  as  for  those  affecting  health.  With  the 
increased  specialization  of  labor,  which  is  more  and  more  lim- 
iting employees  to  piece  work,  in  which  throughout  the  long 
day  a  single  group  of  muscles  is  exercised  by  the  worker,  there 
is  great  need  of  a  chance  for  mechanics,  clerks,  and  workers  of 
all  sorts  to  play  baseball  and  other  games,  and  to  use  the  sim- 


82  I'ort  Ji^ayuc  Civic  Improvement  Association 

pier  g-yninastic  apparatus,  that  may  bring  all  muscles  into  play. 
'i1iey  should  not  only  be  able  to  do  this  freely,  but  to  do  it 
without  sense  of  obligation  to  any  philanthropic  association  or 
sect.  In  the  aggregate  these  men,  many  of  whom  own  their 
homes,  pay  directly  or  indirectly  a  considerable  sum  in  taxes. 
These  go  for  all  kinds  of  purposes,  some  of  which  little  affect 
them,  and  they  can  properly  demand  that  from  the  park  ap- 
propriations a  share  be  set  aside  to  provide  expressly  for  their 
needs.  This  demand  employers  might  well  endorse,  for  there 
results  from  such  provision,  with  its  social  and  moral  as  well 
as  muscular  benefits,  an  unmistakable  increase  in  the  efficiency 
of  labor. 

Indeed,  there  should  be  consideration  of  the  growing  and 
significant  frequency  with  which  manufacturers,  in  seeking  lo- 
cation for  their  plants,  now  add  to  the  subjects  of  their  in- 
quiries a  question  as  to  the  municipality's  provision  of  parks 
and  recreative  facilities.  In  more  than  one  case  a  city  has 
gained  a  great  establishment  because  it  made  better  showing  in 
this  respect  than  did  its  neighbors.  If  such  a  recreative  field 
is  to  be  developed  by  Fort  Wayne,  as  it  certainly  ought  to  be. 
there  manifestly  could  be  no  more  conveniently  and  harmlessly 
central  a  site  for  it  than  on  this  ground,  which  the  city  already 
owns,  east  of  Clinton  Street. 

With  reference  to  Lakeside  Park  there  is  little  to  say, 
since  it  still  awaits  development.  The  most  serious  immediate 
problem  is  the  location  of  the  street  car  line,  in  its  proposed 
extension  to  Walton  Avenue.  My  judgment  is  that 
the  line  should  be  extended  directly  out  Columbia 
Avenue.  In  doing  this,  a  ])retty  concrete  bridge,  with 
sidewalk  provision,  should  re])lace  the  present  structure. 
The  plan  of  thus  extending  the  tracks  reduces  to  a 
minimum  the  cutting  of  the  park ;  it  involves  one  curve  in- 
stead of  two — an  advantage  which  is  not  to  the  company  alone 
— and  it  leaves  free,  for  parkway  development,  the  portion  of 
Lake  Avenue  which  extends  from  Crescent  Avenue  to  the 
projected  boulevard,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  broad,  that 


Port  ll'ayiic  Civic  Iinprovciiiciil  .■Issocicifioii  8:^ 

the  owners  propose  to  dedicate  from  Lake  Avenue  to  the  Driv- 
ing' Park.  If  the  Lake  Avenue  hnk  be  kept  free  from  car 
tracks  there  can  be  developed  a  fine  parkHke  drive — a  mile 
long — from  the  Columbia  Street  bridge  via  Edgewater,  Cres- 
cent and  Lake  Avenues,  and  the  new  boulevard,  to  the  Driving 
Park. 

That  drive,  which  now  requires  the  doing  of  so  little  for 
complete  realization,  is  an  end  worth  striving  for.  The  Edge- 
water  Avenue  section  of  it  constitutes,  or  should  be  prompt- 
ly developed  to  constitute,  a  parkway  approach  to  Lakeside 
Park.  As  such  it  will  practically  be  an  extension  of  the  park, 
carrying  it  to  the  Columbia  Street  bridge.  To  this  end  the 
dyke  bank  should  be  sodded,  as  now  has  been  done  much  of 
the  way;  the  corners  of  the  avenue  rounded  into  sweeping 
curves ;  and  on  top  of  the  dyke  the  walk  or  promenade  made 
readily  accessible  and  given  here  and  there  a  seat.  The  whole 
effect,  both  on  and  below  the  dyke,  is  Holland-like  and  very 
beautiful,  and  is  one  of  the  most  charming  features  of  Fort 
Wayne.  As  it  is  proposed  to  deed  to  the  Park  Board  land 
lying  on  Lake  Avenue,  between  the  present  park  limits  and 
the  projected  boulevard,  the  whole  course,  from  Columbia 
Street  bridge  to  the  wide  boulevard,  will  lie  through  park 
lands.  Concrete  plans  for  Lakeside  Park  will  of  course  include 
bathing  facilities. 

My  opinion  has  been  asked  regarding  the  park  availability 
in  this  connection  of  the  Driving  Park  tract.  With  the  de- 
velopment of  Lakeside,  and  the  extension  and  replanting  of 
Lawton — which  seems  to  me  a  great  deal  more  important  than 
the  acquisition  of  new  and  independent  areas — this  section  of 
the  city  would  have  such  admirable  park  provision  that  there 
would  be  no  real  need  of  an  expenditure  for  additional  parks. 
Of  course  a  gift  of  the  tract  might,  on  the  other  hand,  be 
gratefully  accepted,  as  providing  for  a  future  when  streets  and 
homes  are  likely  to  fill  the  field  now  north  of  it.  The  vacant 
ground  inside  the  track  might  be  put  to  use  as  golf  links,  but 
that  development  could  perhaps  be  arranged  while  the  park 


^4  For/  IVayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  85 


86 


Port  Wayne  Civic  I>iif^ro:'ciiiciit  Association 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  87 

is  still  in  private  ownership.  As  the  property  is  comparatively 
"close  in,"  and  can  be  reached  by  a  five-cent  fare,  the  attempt 
would  be  worth  making. 

Around  on  the  south  side  of  the  city  is  the  newly  acquired 
Weiser  Park.  This  also  is  undeveloped.  It  is  a  beautiful  grove 
of  twenty-two  acres,  well  located  in  respect  to  the  homes,  and 
admirably  adapted  for  development  as  a  neighborhood  park. 
Here  the  family,  as  distinguished  from  the  individual,  from 
the  crowd,  or  from  the  class,  should  be  deemed  the  iniit  to  be 
served.  The  park  needs  extension  to  the  line  of  the  street 
north.  To  stop  short  of  the  street,  as  now,  means  leaving  on 
the  intervening  strip  a  row  of  houses  which,  facing  the  street, 
present  only  their  back  yards  and  back  doors  to  the  park. 
That  is  not  the  right  sort  of  a  park  boundary.  If  this  extension 
be  not  made,  people  will  be  telling  in  a  short  time  how  cheap- 
ly it  could  have  been  obtained  at  the  beginning,  which  is  now, 
and  will  marvel  at  the  short-sightedness  that  failed  to  act. 
Development  of  the  park  for  neighborhood  service  involves, 
among  other  things,  the  provision  of  opportunities  for  making 
fires  and  simple  outdoor  cooking.  The  safest,  least  expensive, 
and  most  dehghtful  way  to  provide  for  this  is  by  means  of  lit- 
tle stone  or  concrete  ovens.  It  will  also  involve,  in  time,  the 
establishment  here  of  a  small  supervised  playground. 

The  matter  of  children's  playgrounds  is  an  exceedingly, 
even  an  unusually,  urgent  one  in  Fort  Wayne.  There  are  two 
reasons  for  that  fact.  First,  the  remarkable  compactness  with 
which  the  city  has  been  built.  One  rarely  finds  a  city  which, 
with  population  as  small  as  Fort  Wayne's,  contains  so  few 
vacant  lots  in  its  inner  sections.  Indeed,  very  few  cities  with 
a  hundred  thousand  population  are  built  as  closely.  This 
means  that  the  bulk  of  the  children  of  Fort  Wayne  have  little 
opportunity  for  play  except  in  the  streets — and  almost  no  op- 
portunity for  group-play,  with  all  the  social  and  educational 
benefit  that  confers.  The  second  reason  that  playgrounds  are 
an  unusually  urgent  need  in  Fort  Wayne  is  the  circumstance 
that  most  other  cities  of  equal  size  already  have  well  organized 


88 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


playground  systems.  In  this  respect  Fort  Wayne  has  been 
lagging. 

I  recommend  that  an  effort  be  made  to  secure  the  estab- 
Hshment  ultimately  of  an  equipped  and  supervised  playground 
in  each  of  the  larger  parks.  And  if  in  any  case  there  must 
be  choice  between  supervision  and  equipment,  I  would  advise 
you  that  the  former  is  the  more  important. 

Considerations  that  make  the  parks  of  Fort  Wayne  favor- 


Where  picnickers  boil  their  coffee.     Stove  in  a  park  "I  Des  Moines. 

able  locations  for  playgrounds  are,  first,  their  admirable  dis- 
tribution and  their  comparative  nearness  to  the  homes.  Not 
one  of  them  is  remote.  Swinney  on  the  west  and  Lakeside  on 
the  northeast  are  on  the  one  mile  circle  that  takes  the  Court 
House  as  center.  To  the  north,  Lawton  is  a  quarter  mile  nearer 
still;  to  the  south,  Weiser,  though  two  miles  from  the  Court 
House,  has,  like  the  others,  many  houses  directly  at  its  bound- 
ary.   In  the  belt  of  residences  that  surrounds  the  business  por- 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvcinciit  Association  89 

tion  of  the  city — a  belt  that  averages  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width 
— the  eastern  section  alone  is  not  provided  with  park  and  play 
space.  Earnest  effort  should  be  made  to  secure  a  site  there. 
The  second  consideration  is  that,  owing  to  the  compactness 
with  which  the  city  is  built,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  obtain 
other  adequate  play  space  except  at  heavy  expense.  Not  only 
are  the  large  parks  just  where  playgrounds  are  needed,  but 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  other  places  for  playgrounds. 
Third,  the  parks  are  already  publicly  owned  and  the  money 
saved  through  not  having  to  purchase  sites  can  go  into  equip- 
ment and  supervision.  Nor  is  the  saving  only  in  purchase  of 
land.  A  playground,  frequented  by  many  children  for  long 
hours,  must  have  toilet  facilities,  which  must  be  sanitary,  and 
it  should  have  a  shelter.  These  are  the  most  expensive  items 
in  playground  equipment.  But  in  the  development  of  the  parks 
these  will  be  taken  care  of.  Finally,  the  spaciousness  of  the 
parks  provide,  also,  for  expansion  when  this  is  needed. 

I  have  recommended,  and  shall  yet  recommend,  a  large 
expenditure  for  the  parks  of  Fort  Wayne,  that  they  may  be 
brought  up  to  the  standard  of  usefulness  they  ought  to  have, 
and  which  such  a  city  as  Fort  Wayne  needs  and  deserves  from 
its  parks.  If,  with  these  expenditures,  the  commission  is  un- 
able also  to  develop  playgrounds,  I  suggest  that  private  phil- 
anthropy can  find  in  the  economical  provision  of  playgrounds 
an  object  that  will  not  want  for  friends.  As  has  been  done  in 
many  cities,  the  Playground  Association  can  probably  obtain 
from  the  Park  Board  permission  to  create  and  maintain  a 
children's  playground  at  a  designated  place  in  each  large  park. 
Eventually,  when  the  success  of  the  experiment,  its  popularity, 
and  the  need  for  such  provision  have  been  proved — and  the 
proof  never  fails — the  city  may  take  over  the  cost  of  main- 
tenance. The  growing  municipal  custom  is  to  put  the  control 
of  playgrounds  in  charge  of  the  Board  of  Education,  on  the 
theory  that  the  playgrounds  are  supplementary  to  the  school 
system,  rounding  out  the  training  of  the  child,  developing  its 
lungs,  heart  and  muscles  as  the  school  develops  his  brain,  and 


oo  Port  IJ^ayiie  Civic  })>iprovcment  Association 

joining  with  the  school  in  the  development  of  character  and  of 
social  consciousness. 

Far  to  the  west  of  the  city,  in  the  rolling  mill  district, 
there  is  a  fine  grove  of  some  twelve  acres,  known  as  Rockhill 
Park,  though  at  this  writing  not  formally  received  by  the  city 
as  a  park.  It  would  constitute  a  good  one  in  a  good  place ;  but 
if  the  city  is  going  to  make  a  jnirchase  in  this  region,  a  better 
tract  to  buy,  in  my  judgment,  is  that  bounded  on  the  west  by 
the  Lake  Shore  railroad,  on  the  south  by  the  Pennsylvania,  and 
on  the  east  by  the  St.  Mary's  river.  The  railroad  boundaries 
are  objections,  and  the  geographical  relation  of  the  tract  to 
the  rolling  mill  is  unfortunate ;  but  neither  of  these  drawbacks 
is  as  serious  as  the  bare  statement  suggests.  The  railroads  are 
on  a  considerable  embankment  that  can  be  pierced  by  a  subway, 
to  obviate  grade  crossing  for  entrance.  This  embankment  will 
make  a  clearly  defined  and,  when  screened  by  planting,  not 
necessarily  unattractive  boundary,  and  one  which  will  effectu- 
ally shut  out  any  industrial  developments  that  may  take  place  in 
the  neighborhood.  From  the  north  the  tract  is  directly  ap- 
proached by  several  pleasant  streets. 

The  positive  advantages  are  conclusive.  The  purchase  of 
the  tract  for  park  purposes  will  preserve  the  beauty  of  the  river 
bank  opposite  the  west  side  of  Swinney  Park,  just  as  we  have 
already  contemplated  its  preservation  on  the  north.  It  will  sub- 
stitute for  two  parks  close  together,  and  the  more  important 
one  with  an  unprotected  boundary,  one  good  sized,  adequately- 
defined  pleasure  ground  that  will  serve  exactly  the  same  popu- 
lation as  would  the  two,  and  serve  them  better.  For  in  parks 
as  in  business,  consolidation  often  means,  as  it  certainly  in  this 
case  would  mean,  economy  of  operation,  improvement  of  pro- 
duct, and  a  larger  public  usefulness.  Moreover,  the  tract  itself  is 
well  adapted  for  park  development.  The  contour  is  irregular, 
the  greater  portion  of  it  is  timbered  with  fine  old  trees,  while 
at  the  extreme  northwest  corner — at  the  very  spot  to  be  chosen 
for  the  purpose — there  is  a  cleared  plain,  where  a  well-worn 
baseball  diamond  indicates  the  ideal  purpose  for  which  it  is 
foreordained. 


Port  ll^'ayiic  Civic  Iiiipruvcinciit  dissociation  91 

Backwater  from  the  river  overflows  the  tract's  lower  por- 
tion at  flood  seasons,  bnt  the  higher  portions  are  probably  not 
often  affected  and  a  hig-li  ledge  extends  along  the  tract's  south 
end  quite  to  the  river  bank.  A  foot-bridge  should  be  thrown 
from  here  over  to  the  present  Swinney  Park.  This  will  great- 
ly increase  the  accessibility  of  Swinney  Park  to  the  west  side, 
as  well  as  making  one  pleasure  ground  of  the  whole.  My 
thought  is  that  the  driving  should  be  confined  to  the  limits  of 
the  present  park,  while  across  the  bridge  one  would  be  free 
from  the  dust  and  danger  of  vehicles  and  at  liberty  to  follow 
footpaths  among  flowers  and  ferns,  seeking  and  finding  there 
a  naturalness  and  romance  which  Swinney  now  can  never 
offer. 

Of  the  remaining  parks  of  Fort  Wayne,  nearly  all  are 
small.  The  largest  is  Reservoir.  This  is  in  a  choice  residence 
district  and  is  dominated  by  the  high  and  very  steep  embank- 
ment of  the  reservoir,  which  occupies  perhaps  a  third  of  the 
total  area.  On  the  west  half  there  is  a  lake  to  which  may  be 
applied  the  comments  respecting  the  lake  in  Swinney  Park.  In 
fact,  the  greater  conspicuousness  of  this  and  the  considerable 
dependence  of  the  park  upon  this  feature  for  its  landscape 
beauty,  should  add  emphasis  to  former  criticism  and  sugges- 
tion. It  would  be  proper  also,  in  the  case  of  Reservoir  Park 
lake,  to  enhance  its  evening  beauty  with  the  witchery  of  lights. 
The  park  is  really,  with  its  near  border  of  streets,  only  a  city 
square,  where  a  touch  of  the  formal  and  artificial  will  not  vio- 
late good  taste.  Incandescent  lamps  on  ornamental  little 
standards,  with  wires  in  conduits,  may  be  placed  near  enough 
the  water  to  be  reflected  in  its  surface.  The  park  needs  as  a 
whole  very  careful  expert  planning.  It  has  admirable  possi- 
bilities— in  fact,  it  is  capable  of  being  made  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting parks  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States,  for  one  does 
not  often  find  in  a  single  city  square  a  good  sized  lake,  contain- 
ing an  island,  and  then  a  high  hill  with  an  unlimited  supply 
of  water  at  the  top  of  it. 

For  the  present,  pending  the  preparation  of  a  careful  gen- 
eral plan,  it  is  enough  perhaps  to  advocate  the  beautifying  of 


92 


Fori  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


the  margin  of  the  lake,  the  removal  of  the  thronging  poplars, 
the  more  artistic  lighting  of  the  whole  park — this  need  not  ])e 
an  expensive  nndertaking— and  the  correction  of  the  walk  sys- 
tem south  of  the  reservoir,  hy  taking  u])  the  present  walk  which 
parallels  the  street  and  placing  it  where  the  well  worn  diagonal 
l)ath  "ivcs  unmistakable  hint  that  a  walk  is  needed. 


investment  value  to  the  money 


Hayden  and  McCidloeb 
Parks  are  little  ornamental 
squares,  properly  developed 
wdth  multitudes  of  flowers. 
There  would  be  saving-  of 
expense,  however,  and  no 
loss  of  beauty,  if  perennials 
aud  flowering  shrubs  were 
used  to  some  extent  instead 
of  quite  so  many  annuals. 
As  the  latter  require  re- 
placing every  season  thej' 
result,  l)y  their  deinands 
on  labor  and  stock,  in  the 
costliest  kind  of  parks. 
Parks  of  this  character  are 
necessarily  s  h  o  av  y  ,  but 
there  should  be  effort  to 
give  a  relatively  permanent 
expended  on  them. 


These  "city  squares,"  as  such  ornamental  open  spaces  arc 
usually  called,  are  a  delightful  kind  of  park,  but  they  are  also 
the  most  expensive  kind.  For  more  important  that  the  cost 
of  maintenance  is  the  circumstance  that  through  their  existence 
many  valuable  building  lots  are  taken  from  the  tax  lists.  The 
added  value  of  abutting  property  seldom  restores  the  whole  of 
this  loss.  But  if,  in  the  improvement  of  a  closely  built  industrial 
city,  we  must  forego  the  ideal  of  many  such  open  spaces,  we 
should  the  more  eagerly  seek  the  opportunity  to  create  these 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  93 

where,  at  no  sacrifice  of  precious  building  land,  they  may  yet 
perform  a  similar  ornamental  service,  and  perhaps  a  larger 
social  service. 

In  Fort  Wayne  there  exists  a  remarkable  opportunity  for 
doing  this.  I  refer  to  the  possible  creation  of  pleasant  little 
outlook  points  overlooking  the  river  on  the  dead  ends  of  those 
streets  that  cross  East  Wayne — as  Francis,  Harmer,  etc.,  all  the 
way  to  Coombs.  All  these  terminate  in  the  bluff,  which  gives 
to  them  a  commanding  view  up  and  down  the  Maumee,  and 
across  to  the  dyke,  while  one  of  them  has  itself  big  trees  and 
is  beautiful  now.  No  land  will  have  to  be  bought.  It  is  a 
question  simply  of  a  little  less  paving,  or  a  little  less  mud  or 
dust,  and  of  providing  some  benches,  and  now  and  then  a  pic- 
turesque shelter — the  thatched  outlook  at  Robison  Park  is  a 
suggestion ;  of  adapting  a  now  perfectly  useless  bit  of  public 
property  to  community  service,  by  transforming  a  dead  end 
of  street  into  a  neighborhood  park,  where  one  may  enjoy  the 
view,  get  fresh  air  and  watch  the  sunset.  Only  a  little  space 
would  be  occupied,  but  the  eye  would  travel  far.  It  is  a  city's 
turning  to  account  such  opportunities  as  these  that  give  to  it 
a  distinctive  charm  and  make  it  loved. 

With  reference  to  Harmer  Street,  there  is  some  chance 
that  its  end  will  be  needed  as  an  approach  to  a  bridge,  to  be 
thrown  over  to  the  Lakeside  section.  That  bridge  ought  to  be 
concrete  and,  in  such  setting,  of  beautiful  design.  About  500 
feet  east  of  its  line  is  the  old  crossing  where  took  place  that 
historic  massacre  of  Harmer's  Ford,  to  which,  I  am  informed, 
the  city  really  owes  its  origin.  The  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution  are  contemplating  a  suitable  marking  of  the  spot. 
If  a  beautiful  bridge  be  constructed,  I  suggest  that  the  chapter 
be  invited  to  place  the  tablet  upon  it,  where  it  can  easily  be 
seen,  and  that  in  recognition  of  such  marking  the  structure  be 
known  as  the  Memorial  Bridge — so  still  more  increasing  the 
interest  in  this  locality. 

This  is  not  an  easy  chapter  to  sum  up,  for  every  park  pre- 
sents a  separate  problem.     But  out  of  the  discussion  I  would 


94  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

have  these  facts  stand  out  with  emphasis:  i.  Swinney,  Liiw- 
ton  and  Weiser  Parks  need  additions  of  area  to  correct  their 
boundaries.  Happily,  the  needed  lands  can  be  obtained  at  this 
time  very  cheaply.  2.  The  further  development  of  all  the 
parks  should  be  in  accordance  with  carefully  made  plans.  3. 
Playgrounds  are  much  needed,  but  for  the  present  there  will 
be  advantages  in  developing  these  in  the  parks,  even  if  this 
has  to  be  done  by  private  initiative.  4.  The  best  ideals  of 
landscape  beauty  and  social  service  should  obtain  in  park 
development.  By  no  other  means  is  the  higher  side  of  the 
public  life  touched  so  easily,  so  pleasantly,  and  in  so  many 
ways. 

With  reference  to  the  latter  point,  music  may  be  and 
should  be  made  a  great  feature  in  the  parks.  In  Rochester 
the  popular  taste  has  now  been  so  developed  that  rag  time 
has  been  eliminated  and  30,000  people  gather  for  a  strictly 
classical  program  by  the  park  band.  Vocal  music  also,  by  the 
singing  societies  and  massed  choirs,  is  practicable  and  pop- 
ular. In  Hartford,  park  employees  are  trained  to  act  as  do 
attendants  in  a  library,  calling  the  attention  of  visitors  to  in- 
teresting trees  and  shrubs  and  birds.  In  yet  other  parks,  water 
fetes  and  illuminations  are  a  feature ;  in  yet  others  skating  and 
coasting  in  winter  and  kite  flying,  etc.,  in  summer,  offer  enter- 
tainment, while  always  there  remains,  as  the  peculiar  park  at- 
traction, beauty,  calm,  and  silence,  to  rest  city-tired  nerves. 

The  financial  aspect  of  the  question  of  course  demands 
attention.  Some  help  may  be  expected  from  public-spirited 
individuals ;  but  for  the  most  part  the  improvements  described 
in  this  chapter  will  have  to  come,  sooner  or  later,  from  the  com- 
munity. In  this  connection,  I  would  call  your  attention  to  three 
facts:  First,  one  can  hardly  conceive  a  more  legitimate  pur- 
pose for  a  bond  issue  than  is  the  purchase  of  park  land.  In 
land  the  bond  has  a  security  which  is  steadily  increasing  in 
value ;  not  wearing  out  as  do  the  school  houses,  public  build- 
ings, water  works,  sewers,  pavements,  bridges,  and  other 
things  for  which  municipal  bonds  are  issued.     As  the  bonds  ap- 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  95 

proach  the  end  of  their  life,  the  land  that  was  purchased  with 
them  will  not  only  be  doing  a  larger  public  service  than  at 
the  beginning,  but  will  be  of  much  greater  intrinsic  value  than 
when  they  were  issued.  Second,  in  no  municipal  expenditure 
do  taxes  seem  to  the  people  to  give  such  direct  and  measurable 
returns  as  in  the  parks.  Third,  the  effect  of  adequate  park 
development  on  contiguous  property  is  such  that  through  in- 
crease in  value  the  city  soon  receives  in  taxes  more  than  it 
pays  for  the  parks.  Consequently,  the  parks  are  to  be  proper- 
ly considered  as  investments.  Within  a  few  months,  an  inves- 
tigation of  this  matter  has  been  made  in  Madison,  Wis.  Mem- 
bers of  the  Common  Council  there  questioned  the  advisability 
of  some  appropriations  desired  for  the  parks,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  investigate  the  claim  that  a  city's  parks  are 
really  a  municipal  investment.  No  study  was  made  of  the  work 
the  parks  do,  of  the  effect  they  have  on  the  public  health,  of 
the  vistors  or  new  residents  they  draw  to  the  city.  The  study 
dealt  with  tax  figures  only,  and  there  were  some  local  condi- 
tions that  made  it  probable  that  the  showing  would  not  be  as 
favorable  as  it  might  be  in  many  cities.  The  painstaking  study 
with  its  quantities  of  figures  has  been  published  in  a  pamphlet. 
The  conclusion,  however,  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  fol- 
lows :  Twelve  and  one-half  per  cent,  is  a  low  average  of  the 
proportion  of  increase  in  assessed  values  which,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  committee,  has  been  directly  caused  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  parks,  drives,  playgrounds,  and  open  spaces  in 
Madison.  At  the  current  tax  rate,  this  increase  is  now  bring- 
ing annually  into  the  city  treasury  almost  exactly  twice  the 
annual  cost  of  the  parks — this  cost  including,  in  the  calculation, 
not  only  maintenance  appropriations  but  interest  on  the  invest- 
ment. 


96  I'ort  Wayne  Civic  I mproi'cuioit  Association 

River  Drive  and  Parkway  System. 


It  was  interesting  and  not  a  little  significant  to  observe 
in  the  course  of  my  investigations  that  the  improvement  of  Fort 
Wayne  was  popularly  interpreted  to  mean  the  j^lanning  of  a 
river  drive.  But  this  Report  will  have  failed  in  its  purpose  if, 
in  the  many  pages  it  has  covered  before  reaching  that  subject, 
it  has  not  shown  that  comprehensive  improvement  of  the  city 
must  mean  a  great  many  other  things  as  well.  There  should 
not  be  inference,  however,  that  the  other  things  are  more  im- 
portant than  the  drive — some  of  them  are  not  as  important. 
For  in  parking  the  river  banks,  and  putting  drive  and  walk 
along  their  edge,  Fort  Wayne  will  be  turning  to  account  its 
greatest  natural  asset,  and  developing  its  own  proper  individ- 
uality— in  which,  so  far  as  this  is  gracious,  rests  the  charm  of 
every  town. 

If  I  may  quote  once  more  from  one  of  my  own  books, 
"Modern  Civic  Art"  describes,  as  a  rule  so  common  as  to  be 
almost  generally  accepted,  the  principle  that  the  stream  hanks 
of  a  community  should  be  reserved  for  park  development,  if 
their  legitimate  commercial  use  permits.  Such  acquirement 
"is  nearly  sure  to  be  picturesque,  potentially  if  not  in  fact, 
and  has  certainly  the  relief  of  variety ;  it  is  quite  likely 
to  be  distinctive ;  and  it  is  frequently,  until  thus  taken 
charge  of,  a  menace  to  the  health  of  the  community,  for 
it  is  probably  made  a  dumping  ground,  if  not  an  open 
sewer,  for  the  neighborhood.  On  this  account,  also,  while 
possessing  perhaps  the  district's  greatest  chance  of  beauty, 
it  is  a  source  of  ugliness  until  redeemed.  But  the  ridges 
of  its  rising  banks  are  likely  to  furnish  a  convenient  nat- 
ural boundary  to  frame  a  landscape  picture  to  be  here  cre- 
ated, while  the  trans-water  view,  which  is  always  charm- 
ing, adds  the  width  of  the  stream  to  the  apparent  park 
area  without  removing  an  equal  tract  from  the  slender 
tax  lists  of  the  town  or  from  the  habitable  area  of  the 
crowded  city.     The  reservation  affords,  too,  public  access 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  97 


98  Port  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

to  a  sure  current  of  fresh  air,  and  possibly  to  a  place  for 
water  sports.  In  short,  no  inland  space  cciually  contracted 
is  likely  to  serve  well  so  many  ends." 

This  presents  the  general  argument.  Strong  as  it  is,  con- 
ditions in  Fort  Wayne  add  weight  to  it  in  the  local  application. 
For  a  drive  and  walk  along  the  river — that  is,  the  parking  of 
the  strip  of  river  bank — would  connect  the  three  principal 
parks,  Swinney,  Lawton  and  Lakeside.  Precisely  as  is  the 
result  in  a  grouping  of  public  buildings,  each  of  these  public 
reservations  would  itself  gain  from  a  connection  with  the 
others.  Secondly,  the  parking-  of  a  strip  of  river  bank  would, 
if  carried  far  enough,  bring  park  acreage  and  park  entrance 
close  to  a  long  stretch  of  the  city,  and  some  of  it  would  be  near 
the  business  section.  It  would  throw  half  way  around  the  city 
— from  its  southwest  corner,  just  above  Broadway  bridge,  to  its 
northeast  corner,  at  Walton  Avenue  bridge,  a  band  of  green,  in 
realization  of  that  parkway  ideal  which  is  such  a  feature  of 
modern  European  city  planning.  Only  there  the  old  dry  moats 
of  city  walls  are  utilized,  while  here  the  course  would  be  beside 
beautiful  living  streams.  Even  Washington — where,  in 
plans  to  beautify  the  capital,  the  nation  is  now  undertaking 
river  front  redemption — has  not  such  a  chance  as  yours. 

If  the  plan  is  practicable,  financially  and  commercially,  it 
is  certainly  desirable.  Let  us  see  just  what  would  be  re- 
quired. 

Suppose  we  begin  with  the  little  pumping  station,  just 
south  of  the  Broadway  bridge  over  the  St.  Mary's  river. 
There  is  here  a  small  bit  of  public  property,  sodded,  and  com- 
manding a  lovely  view  upstream.  There  is  nothing  between 
the  pump  house  and  the  bridge  except  grass  and  trees — one  tree 
in  particular  is  a  noble  one — with  the  stream  on  one  side  and  the 
street  on  the  other.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  city  holdings 
should  not  at  slight  cost  be  extended  to  the  bridge,  with  the 
result  that  the  trees  would  not  be  cut  down  or  have  advertise- 
ments nailed  to  them.  The  drive  would  take  the  street,  and 
so  much  of  the  park  is  easy. 


Fort  IVayiie  Civic  Improvement  Association  99 

At  the  bridge  a  street  car  track  comes  on  to  Broadway 
and  the  highway's  adaptabiHty  as  a  good  park  drive  departs. 
But  it  happens,  too,  that  the  street  gradually  swings  away  from 
the  river,  and  therefore  would  be  denied  parkway  honors  in 
any  case.  Between  the  thoroughfare  and  the  river  there  are 
buildings,  which  some  day  Fort  Wayne  will  try  to  get  cleared 
off;  but  for  the  present  Broadway  might  be  used  for  the  two 
short  blocks  to  Hartnett  Street.  Hartnett  leads  to  the  river 
bank,  and  in  a  moment  one  is  back  to  the  trees  and  wild  growth, 
with  the  St.  Mary's  dancing — as  never  saint-named  river  ought 
to  dance — below  in  the  sunshine.  From  here  there  is  a  long 
stretch,  of  a  mile  or  slightly  more,  to  Swinney  Park,  with  no 
streets  near  the  river.  There  is  ample  room  here  for  a  park- 
way drive.  It  would  pass  back  of  the  greenhouses,  and  under 
trees  and  through  patches  of  woodland  nearly  all  the  way  to 
the  crossing  of  the  Wabash  railroad.  At  times  the  strip  would 
be  narrow;  again,  as  in  the  fine  grove  just  above  the  railroad, 
it  would  widen  out.  The  driveway  itself  should  not  be  more 
than  twenty  feet — a  boulevard  would  ruin  the  effect  desired — 
and  at  the  strip's  narrowest  points  there  would  need  to  be  on 
its  east  side  only  land  enough  to  make  possible  a  good  screen 
of  growing  things.  On  its  west  side,  the  strip  would  include 
all  the  land  to  the  river's  edge,  and  between  road  and  river  a 
romantic  footpath  should  wind  in  and  out  among  the  trees. 
The  grove  south  of  the  railroad,  with  its  thin  sprinkling  of 
heavy  timber,  possesses  park  availability  for  a  section  of  the 
city  which  now  has  no  park  near  it,  but  does  have  many  peo- 
ple. 

The  railroad,  one  might  expect,  would  impose  an  obstacle ; 
but  it  is  on  an  embankment  so  high  that  the  drive  can  pass  un- 
der it  by  a  subway  with  no  difihculty  whatever.  A  dyke  will 
be  necessary  probably  to  keep  out  flood  waters,  and  there 
will  be  other  places  where  it  may  be  needed ;  but  Fort  Wayne 
would  show  poor  spirit,  if,  with  such  a  chance  for  a  drive,  it 
hesitated  at  the  cost  of  an  occasional  dyke — which  need  not  be 
built  until  the  city  is  ready  to  build  it.     Below  Taylor  Street 


lOO 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


Fort  JVayiic  Civic  Improvement  Association  loi 

private  property  owners  have  already  attempted  to  save  the 
bank  with  a  concrete  retaining  wall.  It  would  not  cost  much  to 
make  this  look  as  strong  as  it  probably  is,  its  present  appear- 
ance doubtless  belying  its  strength. 

From  here  to  the  Pennsylvania  tracks,  the  way  is  clear 
along  the  top  of  the  dyke.  The  drive  at  this  point  need  l)e  no 
more  than  a  drive,  and  as  such  it  is  likely — with  its  connections 
and  lack  of  railroad  grade  crossings — so  to  open  up  and  give 
value  to  the  considerable  building  tract,  that  the  owners  should 
find  it  good  policy  to  give  the  right  of  way.  Happily,  the  Penn- 
sylvania road  also  is  on  an  embankment,  similar  to  that  of  the 
Wabash,  at  the  point  of  crossing;  and  in  like  fashion  the  park- 
drive  can  go  beneath  the  tracks.  The  elevation  here  is  not 
quite  as  great ;  but  the  clearance  to  the  top  of  the  rail  seems 
to  be  about  ten  and  one-half  feet,  just  east  of  the  railroad 
pumping  station.  Thus  there  would  be  required  a  dip  of  only 
three  feet.  Emerging  from  the  short  subway,  one  would  be  in 
Swinney  Park. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  drive  from  this  point  to  West  Berry 
street  has  been  already  made,  and  as  this  is  written  its  exten- 
sion to  West  INIain  is  probable.  Indeed,  this  can  be  so  easily 
accomplished  that  its  execvition  may  reasonably  be  assumed. 
With  its  construction  there  will  come,  of  course,  the  redemp- 
tion of  that  little  triangle,  of  which  the  glaring  billboards  make 
— or  seem  to  make — the  terminus  of  Alain  Street.  The  street 
leads  up  to  them.  Before  them  the  city  has  cleared  a  space  by 
providing  a  flat  triangle,  and  therein  has  even  put  a  bench  that 
one  may  sit  and  study  them.  Behind  them,  there  is  the  beauty 
of  leaf  and  flower  and  sparkling  river — but  all  that  they  hide. 
The  site  is  strategic,  for  the  beauty  that  can  be  given  to  this 
spot  will  shed  its  influence  far  down  a  traveled  thoroughfare. 

It  is  remarkable  how  far  and  with  what  ease  the  imag- 
inary park  drive  can  be  built.  From  the  pumping  station  at 
the  city  line  to  West  Main  Street,  by  the  course  suggested,  is 
well  above  two  miles,  and  a  two-mile  park  drive  on  the  edge 
of  a  city  and  penetrating  into  its  built-up  sections  is  a  very 


I02  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  103 


I04  r^ort  Wayne  Civic  Iiiiprovcincnt  Association 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  hnprovcmoit  Association  105 

extraordinary  and  enviable  possession.  One  would  have  to 
seek  many  cities  to  find  the  opportunity's  like.  But  even  this  is 
not  all,  though  for  a  space  beyond  West  Main  Street  the  course 
is  not  as  easy.  If,  however,  for  a  short  distance  here  there  are 
real  obstacles  to  overcome,  there  should  be  recollection  that 
the  value  of  this  part  of  the  drive  far  transcends  any  import- 
ance it  can  have  of  itself  alone — considerable  though  that  would 
be.  Its  great  value  is  as  a  connecting  link,  tying  together  the 
river  drives,  and  making  one  beautiful  and  extensive  system  of 
the  whole.  Its  cost  is  properly  to  be  spread  over  that  of  the 
whole  drive — so  absurdl}-  inexpensive  apart  from  this.  The  first 
difficulty  is  with  regard  to  the  Nickel  Plate  crossing,  the  width 
of  the  trackage  here  making  a  subway  extremely  undesirable, 
even  were  there  no  other  objections.  I  propose  that  the  drive, 
crossing  West  Main  Street,  shall  begin  to  descend,  reaching 
below  the  first  bridge  a  point  that  would  give  to  it  a  twelve-foot 
clearance  beneath  the  bottom  chord  of  the  bridge.  As  it 
descends  it  is  to  swing  into  the  riverbed,  where  it  will  proceed 
by  concrete  arches  on  properly  supported  steel  cross-girders, 
with  brick  pavement,  until  the  second  bridge  has  been  passed. 
Then  it  will  turn  up  the  bank  again.  At  the  low  level,  it  would 
be  beneath  high  water.  On  the  water  side,  I  would  therefore 
have  a  solid  concrete  coping,  three  and  one-half  feet  high. 
This  will  not  shut  out  the  view,  and  yet  it  will  be  high  enough 
to  preserve  the  drive  from  overflow  except  under  such  unusual 
conditions  of  high  water  as  may  be  expected  to  occur  not 
more  than  once  in  a  dozen  years,  and  then  for  only  a  day  or 
two.  To  dispose  of  the  water  on  such  an  occasion,  rare  though 
it  would  be,  there  ma\-  be  left  in  the  coping,  if  desired,  a  hole 
with  a  removable  plug. 

As  the  idea  of  this  drive  involves  serious  questions  in  en- 
gineering, I  called  into  consultation  Mr.  Charles  Carroll 
Brown,  of  Indianapolis,  a  consulting  engineer  of  national  repu- 
tation, to  advise  me  with  reference  to  the  effect  of  such  con- 
struction in  raising  the  water  level,  etc.  Mr.  Brown  personally 
visited  the  place,  and   in   a  written  statement  expresses  the 


io6  Fort  IVayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

opinion  that,  even  if  the  drive  is  built  on  a  soHd  fill,  the  back- 
water of  the  river  under  flood  conditions  will  be  raised  by  it 
only  a  fraction  of  an  inch.*  It  may  be  added  that  the  Thir- 
tieth Street  bridge,  over  Fall  Creek,  in  Indianapolis,  has  been 
so  constructed  as  to  permit  the  carrying  out  of  an  exactly  sim- 
ilar scheme  there,  when  a  contemplated  boulevard  shall  be 
constructed.  It  may  also  be  remarked  that  at  Fort  Wayne  the 
.\ickel  I'late  railroad,  far  from  opposing  such  a  plan,  is  likely 
to  welcome  its  execution  because  of  the  further  protection  thus 
given  to  the  bridge  abutments.  Finally,  we  should  note  how 
pleasant  a  way  of  going  this  will  offer — its  openness,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  a  subway;  and  the  delightful  variety  lent  to 
the  drive  by  descending  for  a  brief  space  below  the  bank,  after 
long  continuance  on  its  top ;  getting  close  to  the  water,  after 
seeing  it  from  above ;  and  an  entire  forgetfulness  of  the  rail- 
road, in  the  interest  and  novelty  of  the  new  view  that  will  be 
opened. 

Beyond  the  railroad's  second  bridge,  where  the  drive 
turns  up  on  the  bank  again,  the  way  is  comparatively  clear  for 
a  short  distance.  The  drive  would  enter  a  roomy  backyard, 
would  cut  off  the  end  of  a  twelve-foot  public  alley,  and  so.  fol- 
lowing the  river  bank  for  six  hundred  feet,  reach  the  alley 
that  leads  from  Van  Buren  Street  to  the  river,  just  north  of 
Superior  Street.  This  would  be  widened  into  a  park  drive,  the 
distance  being  about  fifty  yards,  and  all  the  present  improve- 
ments being  of  very  cheap  character.  There  is  nothing  here 
that  should  cause  a  progressive  city  to  hesitate  for  a  moment, 
considering  the  result  that  will  be  attained. 

At  Van  Buren  Street  the  way  is  once  more  open,  the  city 
already  owning  the  beautiful  large  tract  enclosed  in  the  bend 


*He  figures  the  maximum  discharge  of  water  at  the  bridge  at 
l.'),000  cubic  feet  per  second.  Computing  the  area  of  the  cross  sec- 
tion at  3,6.50  square  feet,  he  finds  the  proposed  drive,  if  made  solid, 
reducing  this  nearly  twenty  per  cent.  The  high  water  velocity, 
which  he  had  figured  at  a  little  more  than  four  feet  a  second,  is 
thereby  raised  to  slightly  over  four  and  three-quarters  feet  a  second, 
but  he  finds  that  to  produce  this  velocity,  the  back  water  is  in- 
creased only  part  of  an  inch. 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  107 

of  the  river  east  of  this  point.  My  sugg-estion  is  that  the  ih-ivc 
cut  across  the  southern  end,  practically  following  the  arc  of 
Michaels  Avenue.  Up  to  this  point,  it  will  have  proceeded 
so  far  along  the  river  bank  that  the  variation  of  brief  retire- 
ment from  the  bank  will  be  a  pleasant  change;  thereby,  too, 
the  route  will  be  shortened,  and  the  expense  of  construction  re- 
duced. But  the  main  advantage  is  that  the  broad  meadow 
will  then  be  left  free  for  use  as  a  children's  playground.  For 
this  purpose  it  is  admirably  adapted.  Its  location  close  to 
homes  where  play  space  is  limited  is  ideal,  while  yet  it  is  so 
isolated  that  the  shouts  of  play  can  never  disturb  the  neigh- 
borhood. In  any  city,  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  space  more 
perfectly  adapted  for  playground  purposes,  from  every  point 
of  view,  than  is  this. 

From  Ross  Street  I  would  have  the  drive,  for  the  present, 
make  use  of  existing  Ross  and  Superior  Streets.  Happily  the 
house  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Ross  and  Superior  is  so  well 
set  back  that  a  graceful  turn  can  be  substituted  for  the  present 
acute  angle  of  street  intersection,  by  cutting  off  the  corner 
with  a  curve.  As  this  would  considerably  increase  the  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  location  of  the  house,  apparently  putting  it  at 
the  entrance  to  a  park  drive,  such  action  should  be  welcomed 
rather  than  opposed. 

As  the  lots  become  shallow,  beyond  Fulton  Street,  the 
houses  naturally  become  smaller  and  less  expensive.  For  the 
most  part,  beyond  Fulton  Street,  they  are  one-story  frame 
houses  that,  even  so,  have  seen  their  best  days.  The  ultimate 
and  logical  development  will  be  the  city's  acquirement  and 
parking  of  all  this  space,  amounting  to  two  and  one-half  blocks, 
between  Superior  Street  and  the  river.  Then  at  Ewing  Street 
the  drive  would  swing  in  close  to  the  river.  But  with  all  that 
Fort  Wayne  has  now  to  do,  my  judgment  is  that  this  part  of 
the  work  can  well  wait.  No  such  enhancement  of  values  can 
be  anticipated  for  these  lots  as  to  involve  much  loss  in  so  do- 
ing, and  the  use  of  only  three  blocks  of  Superior  Street  as  a 
link  in  the  river  drive  will  not  seriously  detract  from  the  drive's 


loS  fori  Wayne  Civic  Iniprovcnicnt  Association 

attraction.  But  at  Webster  Street,  the  river  being  now  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  street,  the  drive  ought  to  turn  n(jrth 
on  the  highway  to  regain  the  bank.  The  lot  on  the  east  side  of 
Webster  Street  is  very  narrow  at  that  end,  so  that  but  little 
private  property  will  have  to  be  crossed  to  reach  Wells  wStreet. 
and  that  little  is  the  back  of  the  lot,  with  nothing  more  formid- 
able than  an  old  lumber  shed  to  present  an  obstacle.  Beyond 
Wells  vStreet,  between  Wood  Avenue  and  the  river,  there  is 
a  little  frame  dwelling,  a  coal  yard,  and  a  lime,  cement  and 
stone  yard — the  first  industrial  occupation  of  the  river  Ijank 
yet  encountered.  This  will  have  to  be  cleared  out,  and  the 
drive  carried  right  across  to  Harrison  Street.  Thence  we 
have  the  aid  of  Eureka  Avenue.  The  narrow  strip  between 
the  avenue  and  the  river  should  be  acquired  and  cleared,  as 
should  the  balance  of  the  tract,  to  Calhoun  Street.  The  rapid 
encroachment  on  the  stream  bed  which  is  here  taking  place, 
through  filling"  in,  is  an  interesting  and  instructive  example  of 
the  unsightly  and  menacing  operations  that  may  be  looked  for 
if  such  property  remains  in  private  hands.  Not  only  would 
this  dangerous  work  be  thus  efifectually  stopped,  but  the  drive 
would  by  this  means  be  brought  around  to  Calhoun  Street, 
whence  it  can  easily  be  swung  along  the  river  through  the 
vacant  land  of  the  one  remaining  block  before  Clinton  Street 
is  reached.  So  would  be  completed  the  drive  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  St.  Mary's. 

For  at  Clinton  Street  the  river  should  be  crossed.  The 
concrete  bridge  is  here,  and  though  this  falls  far  short  of  what 
it  ought  to  be,  it  is  the  only  attempt  as  yet  to  give  Fort  Wayne 
a  beautiful  bridge.  It  needs  light  standards  and  sidewalks, 
and  its  width  from  parapet  to  parapet  is  only  about  thirty-six 
feet — or  no  more  than  the  road  itself  ought  to  be.  For  here 
the  road  carries  not  only  the  park  traffic  but  the  street  traffic 
of  an  important  thoroughfare.  However,  the  sidewalks  can 
probably  be  swung  out  on  wrought  iron  brackets  with  no  bad 
effect,  and  the  bridge — given  better  approaches — made  very 
presentable  and  serviceable.     But  quite  apart  from  the  fortun- 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  hnprovcmciit  .Issociatioii  109 

ate  chance  of  the  presence  of  a  concrete  bridge  at  CHnton 
Street,  this  is  the  natural  point  for  crossing.  Here  the  pro- 
posed river  drive  reaches,  in  the  athletic  field  and  suggested 
extension  of  Lawton  Park,  one  of  the  main  parks,  of  which  the 
greater  portion  is  on  the  further  side.  The  drive  should  not 
enter  the  athletic  field,  and  beyond  that  field  the  plant  of  the 
Fuel  and  Lighting  Company  practically  blocks  further  progress 
on  the  south  side.  Thus  there  is  not  only  the  pleasant  means 
of  crossing  here,  but  it  is  desirable  to  cross  here,  and  there  is 
no  other  way  of  continuing  the  drive. 

With  Lawton  Park's  extension  and  improvement,  as  al- 
ready discussed,  the  drive,  having  crossed  the  bridge,  sweeps 
into  broad  park  lands.  It  issues  from  the  park  into  Spy  Run 
Avenue,  whence  a  boulevarded  street  should  carry  it  to  the 
edge  of  the  St.  Joseph  river.  Here  the  land  is  all  open,  and  the 
continuation  of  a  drive  along  the  bank,  in  southern  extension 
of  that  part  of  Spy  Run  Avenue  which  skirts  the  bank,  is  not 
only  easy  and  desirable,  in  removing  pleasure  driving  from 
crowded  Spy  Run,  but  will  open  up  the  property,  tying  to- 
gether the  several  cross  streets  which  now  have  connection  by 
Spy  Run  only,  and  in  its  construction  removing  the  danger  of 
overflow.  The  relief  it  would  give  to  Spy  Run  Avenue  is 
much  to  be  desired,  the  street  being  only  fifty  feet  wide  from 
property  line  to  property  line,  and  having  a  car  track.  It  is 
already  dangerous.  This  drive  would  take  one  to  the  State 
Street  bridge,  and  so  across  the  river. 

On  the  east  side  St.  Joseph  Boulevard  now  extends  nearly 
the  whole  way  along  the  river  bank.  Eventually  it  should  be 
carried  beside  the  river  the  entire  distance  to  the  bridge,  and 
far  up  stream  above  the  bridge.  This  will  come  with  Port 
Wayne's  larger  population  and  demand  for  long  country 
drives.  But  for  the  present  it  will  be  no  hardship  for  one  to 
continue  along  State  Street  to  the  State  Institution,  and  then 
turn  south  on  the  boulevard.  This  connects  now  with 
Egdewater  Avenue — of  which  the  development  was  outlined 
in  the  previous  chapter — and  so  is  completed  the  long  river 


no  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

drive  to  Walton  Avenue.  Easily  secured  though  it  is,  the 
parkway  as  proposed  is  one  that  the  finest  city  in  the  world 
might  envy.    It  will  cost  so  little  and  it  will  yield  much. 

Before  turning  from  the  rivers,  to  consider  Fort  Wayne's 
further  possibilities,  a  word  should  be  said  regarding  the 
greater  use  of  the  streams.  With  popular  recognition  that  the 
rivers  ought  not  to  be  utilized  as  open  sewers,  and  that  to  les- 
sen their  channels  by  using  the  banks  as  dumps  is  to  invite 
flood  damage,  they  tend — their  waterpower  being  valueless — to 
become  only  objects  to  be  looked  at.  This  is  good  as  far  as  it 
goes,  for  doubtless  the  persistent  and  quiet  influence  year  by 
year  of  a  beautiful  municipal  possession  is  a  potent  force  for 
good  in  the  community ;  but  it  does  not  exhaust  the  rivers'  pos- 
sibilities. There  is  still  a  potential  social  usefulness  which,  if 
availed  of,  would  not  only  cause  them  to  give  active  pleasure 
but  through  such  service  would  greatly  increase  their  benefi- 
cent civic  influence. 

For  social  use  of  the  rivers  by  boating,  three  things  are 
necessary:  i.  The  water  must  be  comparatively  pure — which 
means  that  the  city's  sewage  must  not  enter  it.  On  the  popu- 
lous south  and  east  sides  the  sewage  is  now  intercepted  and  car- 
ried below  the  point  where  boating  would  begin ;  but  even  this 
is  not  enough.  Under  the  laws  of  the  State,  the  State  Board  of 
Health  may  at  any  time  declare  that  the  pollution  of  the  Mau- 
mee  is  a  nuisance  and  menace,  and  must  be  stopped.  The 
sewage  of  the  growing  north  side  is  discharged  into  the  river 
within  the  city  limits,  creating  conditions  that  must  soon  rob 
the  Edgewater  Avenue  dyke  of  its  charm.  It  is  at  once  nec- 
essary to  plan  for  some  other  disposal  of  that  sewage,  and  it 
will  be  the  part  of  wisdom  not  to  adopt  the  makeshift  of  an  in- 
tercepting sewer — on  whichever  side — that  will  simply  carry  it 
further  down  stream.  True  civic  economy  suggests  a  com- 
prehensive study  of  the  whole  situation  and  the  adoption  of  a 
modern  disposal  plan,  which  will  obviate  expenditures  for  a 
system  which  the  State  Board  of  Health  may  at  any  time  order 
undone.    2.  The  rivers  must  have  in  summer  a  sufficient  depth 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association  iii 

of  water ;  and,  3,  the  Ijeauty  of  both  banks — not  of  one  alone — 
must  be  preserved.  The  latter  requirement  is  essential,  indeed, 
to  the  scenic  attractiveness  of  the  proposed  drive.  Fortunate- 
ly, the  conditions  in  this  respect  are  such — assuming  the  recom- 
mended extension  of  Swinney  Park  to  be  secured — that  there 
need  be  little  anxiety  on  this  score,  if  the  drive  is  constructed. 
Perhaps  the  most  serious  danger  to  be  apprehended,  if,  the 
city  controlling  the  land  opposite  Swinney  Park,  building- 
operations  have  not  to  be  dreaded,  is  that  bill  boards  will  be 
placed  on  those  banks  which  are  not  controlled.  The  adver- 
tiser is  not  usually  a  respecter  of  natural  beauty,  and  the  board 
to  which  I  have  already  referred — at  the  east  end  of  West 
Main  Street  bridge — or  the  board  which  one  passes  on  the 
lovely  bank  of  the  old  canal  en  route  to  Robison  Park, 
should  give  warning  to  the  municipality  of  the  importance  of 
safeguarding  any  investment  it  may  make  on  one  bank  by 
securing  control  of  the  opposite  bank.  I  note  that  under  State 
law  (Section  149,  Chapter  129,  Laws  of  1905)  the  park  com- 
missioners have  power  "to  prevent  the  deposit  or  maintenance 
of  unsightly  or  obnoxious  material  in  or  along"  rivers  and 
streams,  and  to  "provide  for  the  protection  of  the  banks  there- 
of." This  would  seem  to  bestow  the  needed  authority.  In  the 
case  of  the  St.  Mary's  west  bank,  from  Bluffton  Road  to 
Swinney  Park,  where  as  yet  the  land  is  all  undeveloped,  a  strip 
should  be  reserved  for  a  balancing  park  drive. 

The  maintenance  of  a  sufficient  water  level  in  the  rivers 
during  the  dry  season  might  seem  a  difficult  problem,  owing  to 
the  torrential  character  of  the  streams.  But  folding  dams  will 
accomplish  this  readily.  The  lower  of  them — if  there  be  more 
than  one — should  be  at  some  favorable  point  between  the 
Columbia  and  Walton  Avenue  bridges.  As  I  said  in  discuss- 
ing Lawton  Park,  several  varieties  of  such  dams  are  made,  all 
of  which  will  lie  prostrate  in  the  river  bed,  allowing  the  flood 
waters  to  pass  unobstructed  over  them ;  while,  when  the  water 
is  low,  they  can  be  lifted — in  whole  or  in  part,  as  the  case  may 
need — to  raise  the  water  level.     With  this  done  the  rivers  will 


112 


Furt  li'dyiic  Ci'i'ic  Improvement  Association 


Fort  IVayne  Ck'ic  Improvement  Association  113 

be  available  for  canoes,  if  not  for  larger  boats ;  Swinney  and 
Lawton  Parks  will  be  still  more  closely  knit  together  in  social 
usefulness — indeed,  a  motor  boat  line  may  be  established  be- 
tween them ;  and  there  will  be  added  a  j^owerful  new  factor 
to  the  pleasure  and  healthfulness  of  life  in  Fort  Wayne. 
Think  what  it  will  mean  to  you  who  live  in  Fort  Wayne,  to  be 
able  to  use  the  rivers,  and  to  have  them  sweet  and  beautiful! 

Feaving-  now  the  rivers  and  turning  southward,  W^alb^n 
Avenue,  to  which  the  river  drive  has  brought  us,  is  the  only 
through  cross-town  thoroughfare  east  of  Clinton  Street.  This 
is  an  unfortunate  condition,  not  easily  to  be  corrected, 
and  it  is  going  to  throw  so  heavy  a  trafific  upon 
Walton  Avenue  that  the  avenue  will  not  be  well  adapted 
to  serve  as  a  park  connection.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
distance  from  the  north  bank  of  the  Maumee  to  Weiser  Park 
is  so  great,  and  Weiser  will  be  so  slightly  developed  for  driv- 
ing, that  there  will  not  be  much  strictly  park  travel  between 
the  two.  Such  as  there  is,  however,  would  naturally  take  this 
one  direct  way;  and  the  street,  which  has  some  elements  of 
unusual  interest— in  crossing  the  river  and  passing  the  grounds 
of  Concordia  College — and  which  is  still  all  undeveloped, 
should  be  treated  with  its  destiny  in  view.  That  is  to  say,  to 
exceptional  degree  Walton  Avenue  ought  to  be  developed  with 
thought  of  its  community  value,  rather  than  as  a  local  thor- 
oughfare. Such  consideration  involves  special  regard  for  its 
paving,  for  its  tree-planting  and  parking,  and  for  the  prompt 
abolition  on  this  street  of  the  railroad  grade  crossings.  Its 
distance  from  the  center  of  the  city  gives  no  just  indication  of 
the  degree  of  usefulness  it  will  have. 

I  have  said  that  Weiser  Park  is  not  likely  to  be  a  driving- 
attraction.  Most  of  the  pleasure  driving  will  turn  west  from 
Walton  to  the  residence  section.  If  it  uses  Pontiac  Street  it 
will  pass  the  beautiful  quarter  just  east  of  Hoagland  Avenue, 
and  so  on  to  Fairfield. 

There  is  need  of  a  connection  that  shall  be  direct  an  1 
beautiful  between  Fairfield,  in  this  portion  the  town's  show 


114  ^ort  JVayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


Fort  JJ^ayiic  Civic  Iiiif'roirniciif  Association  115 


ii6  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

residential  street,  and  the  system  of  drives  and  parks  that  be- 
gins at  the  St.  Mary's  river,  only  half  a  mile  away.  In  Nutt- 
man  Avenue  the  opportunity  for  this  is  offered  with  extraor- 
dinary ease.  West  from  Fairfield,  the  avenue  skirts  a  bit  of 
beautiful  woodland ;  at  Beaver  Avenue  it  makes  a  jog,  contin- 
uing west  from  there  on  a  line  some  forty  feet  south  of  the 
line  the  other  portion  of  the  avenue  has  followed.  For  its 
whole  extent  Nuttman  Avenue  ])asses  through  territory  that  is 
still  practically  virgin.  By  extending  the  northern  section 
west  on  its  own  line,  and  the  more  southern  section  east  on  its 
line,  we  shall  create  a  parkway  enclosing  between  its  divided 
roadways  a  broad  parking  strip  covered  with  beautiful  trees. 
If  the  width  of  this  parkway  were  120  feet,  the  space  might 
well  be  divided  as  follows :  Two  feet  from  the  property  line  a 
six-foot  walk,  then  eight  feet  of  greensward ;  a  twenty- 
four  foot  road,  and  a  middle  park  strip  forty  feet  wide ;  beyond 
this  the  divisions  balancing  those  already  named.  This  would 
make  a  beautiful  and  worthy  connection  between  the  river 
drive  and  Fairfield  Avenue,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  there  would  result  a  demand  for  the  property  abutting  on 
it  that  would  at  once  give  to  the  property  a  value  easily  paying 
for  the  improvement  through  its  larger  tax  returns. 

With  the  proposal  of  this  parkway  there  is  completed  the 
circuit  of  the  city — and  a  very  noble  and  beautiful  circuit  it  is. 
and  attainable  now  at  strangely  little  expense,  considering  how 
close  it  lies  around  the  built-up  portion  of  the  city.  It  is  an 
opportunity  well  calculated  to  inspire  the  citizens  to  accomplish- 
ment, as  I  believe  that  it  is  doing. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  while  the  community  will  construct 
the  links  needed  to  secure  this  river  drive,  private  beneficence 
may  come  forward  to  bestow,  on  a  city  which  would  thus  be 
jiroving  itself  so  worthy  of  assistance,  the  great  country  drive 
and  park  that  lies  at  its  door  waiting  utilization.  This  would 
stretch  along  the  St.  Mary's  river,  continuing  southward  the 
city  drive — widening  here  and  there  to  enclose  wooded  picnic 
groves,  canoeists'  goals,  bird  rendezvous,  and  lovers'  shelters — 


Fort  ll'ayiic  Cii'ic  hiiprovcmcnt  Association 


117 


up  one  side  and  down  tlie  other,  from  the  pumping  station  above 
Broadway  bridge  to  Stellhorn's  bridge,  under  noble  oaks  the 
whole  way.  It  \vould  be  a  unique  and  beautiful  attraction,  of 
ever  growing"  interest  and  value.  It  offers,  at  no  prohibitive 
expense,  an  opportunity  to  some  philanthropist — or  philanthro- 
pists, for  the  drive  on  each  side  might  be  given  by  a  different 
citizen — a  chance  to  erect  to  himself  a  monument  that  would 
increase  in  beauty  and  popular  appreciation  with  the  lapse  of 
time ;  to  do  a  really  great  thing  for  his  city,  that  would  make 
his  name  forever  loved  and  remembered  there;  and,  if  it 
chances  that  he  has  made  his  money  in  F"ort  Wayne,  to  do  for 
the  community  as  it  has  done  for  him  and  his. 


In  the  shadows  of  Birdland  Drive.     A   park  on  the  river  bank  '"  Des  Moines. 
Note  the  beauty  of  the  name  as  well  as  of  the  scene. 

The  provision  of  parks  and  drives  through  jirivate  benefi- 
cence, is  an  increasingly  popular  expression  of  civic  spirit,  but 
not  often  are  the  conditions  for  it  so  favorable  as  in  this  par- 
ticular case.  But  let  me  add  a  word  of  suggestion,  if  any  one 
contemplates  this  gift.     The  donor  should  make  it  during  his 


ii8 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


Ri-fei-fivcos 


HI.  Polk  ;lCo 


<f,At/.'/f/tiiii  llXJ\>t/rJth. 


polkas    "" 
^I»    OF 

CI  TY      OF 
INDIANA. 

Existing  Buws  &- Drives 

Proposed  River  Drives 

6-  Park  Additions 

PrOP05EdBoII1EVARD  ^NNECnONS 


Port  ]\'aync  Civic  Improvoncul  Associaliun  119 

life,  that  he  may  have  the  joy  of  developing  it,  and  the  pleasure 
and  reward  of  watching  the  happiness  its  use  will  bring  to  all 
classes  of  citizens.  To  wait  until  he  dies  before  making  the 
gift  available,  would  be  greatly  to  rob  himself. 

Fifteen  or  twenty  years  hence  the  drive  may  even  be  ex- 
tended further — but  that  will  be  another  generation's  chance. 
It  is  enough  today  to  dream  of  such  a  round-trip  six-mile  drive. 
To  simplify  the  making  of  the  gift,  the  Park  Commission 
should  secure  the  authority,  unless  it  already  has  it,  to  con- 
demn property  outside  the  city  limits  for  park  purposes.  This 
would  be  a  reasonable  request  on  the  commission's  part  and  it 
may  well  do  all  it  can  to  make  easy  such  a  gift. 

In  the  other  direction,  down  the  Maumee,  there  is  now 
a  beautiful  drive,  which  well  illustrates  what  that  up  the  St. 
Mary's  may  be. 


Port  Jl'ayiic  Civic  ImprovcmciU  Associatiu)i  119 

life,  that  he  may  have  the  joy  of  developing  it,  and  the  pleasure 
and  reward  of  watching  the  hai~)piness  its  use  will  bring  to  all 
classes  of  citizens.  To  wait  until  he  dies  before  making  the 
gift  available,  would  be  greatly  to  rob  himself. 

Fifteen  or  twenty  years  hence  the  drive  may  even  be  ex- 
tended further — but  that  will  be  another  generation's  chance. 
It  is  enough  today  to  dream  of  such  a  round-trip  six-mile  drive. 
To  simplify  the  making  of  the  gift,  the  Park  Commission 
should  secure  the  authority,  unless  it  already  has  it,  to  con- 
demn property  outside  the  city  limits  for  park  purposes.  This 
would  be  a  reasonable  request  on  the  commission's  part  and  it 
may  well  do  all  it  can  to  make  easy  such  a  gift. 

In  the  other  direction,  down  the  Maumee,  there  is  now 
a  beautiful  drive,  which  well  illustrates  what  that  up  the  St. 
Mary's  may  be. 


T20  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 


5*ajN#^ 


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Fort  ]Vaync  Civic  Improvement  /Issociation  121 

Conclusion. 


There  is  temptation  to  add  a  few  words  in  snmniary,  for 
there  has  been  unfolded  a  long  program  of  diverse  undertak- 
ings. It  is  no  small  matter  to  recast  a  city — readjusting  it  to 
its  higher  destiny,  and  shaping  it  for  a  greater  trade  and  in- 
dustry and  larger  population  than  had  been  foreseen.  But  the 
very  need  of  so  doing  is  inspiring  and  calculated  to  give  cour- 
age ;  and  today,  in  the  competition  of  cities  for  a  wholesomer 
civic  life,  and  the  better  community  spirit  that  goes  with  better 
living,  the  city  that  dares  is  the  city  that  wins. 

In  Boston,  an  all-embracing  movement  has  been  started 
with  the  purpose  of  making  Boston  by  191 5  just  what  Boston 
ought  to  be.  It  is  called  the  191 5  movement,  and  a  program 
of  achievement  has  been  mapped  out  for  each  of  the  preceding 
years,  so  that  each  one  shall  surely  see  the  goal  appreciably 
nearer.  The  leaders  of  finance,  of  business,  of  labor,  and  of  the 
professions  are  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  effort.  That  is  a 
good  thing  to  do,  and  yet  I  would  caution  you  against  setting 
your  gaze  too  far  ahead.  There  must  be  insistence  on  the  op- 
portunity of  the  present,  on  the  achievement  of  this  month  and 
year — of  Nineteen  Hundred  and  Now,  as  Edward  Everett 
Hale  expressed  it.  Fort  Wayne  cannot  do  at  once  all  the  things 
herein  suggested ;  the  Report  does  look  years  ahead.  But 
there  should  be  realization  that  each  month's  delay  means 
greater  difficulty  in  accomplishment ;  all  that  can  be  done  should 
be  done  quickly.  Speaking  generally,  the  most  urgent  work  is 
the  acquisition  of  needed  lands.  Development,  as  already  in 
the  matter  of  your  parks,  can  follow  more  slowly. 

Financially,  Fort  Wayne  is  exceptionally  well  able  to  act 
quickly  and  with  energy,  in  order  that  she  may  make  real  the 
new  dreams  of  a  better  future.  I  have  been  looking  over  the 
financial  statements  of  a  selected  list  of  cities,  having  popu- 
lations of  between  50,000  and  65,000.  Included  in  the  list — the 
figures  being  those  of  1906 — are  such  typical  and  far  scattered 


Fort  f  Fay  lie  Civic  Improvement  /Issociation  121 

Conclusion. 


There  is  temptation  to  add  a  few  words  in  summary,  for 
there  has  been  unfolded  a  long  program  of  diverse  undertak- 
ings. It  is  no  small  matter  to  recast  a  city — readjusting  it  to 
its  higher  destiny,  and  shaping  it  for  a  greater  trade  and  in- 
dustry and  larger  population  than  had  been  foreseen.  But  the 
very  need  of  so  doing  is  inspiring  and  calculated  to  give  cour- 
age ;  and  today,  in  the  competition  of  cities  for  a  wholesomer 
civic  life,  and  the  better  community  spirit  that  goes  with  better 
living,  the  city  that  dares  is  the  city  that  wins. 

In  Boston,  an  all-embracing  movement  has  been  started 
with  the  purpose  of  making  Boston  by  191 5  just  what  Boston 
ought  to  be.  It  is  called  the  19 15  movement,  and  a  program 
of  achievement  has  been  mapped  out  for  each  of  the  preceding 
years,  so  that  each  one  shall  surely  see  the  goal  appreciably 
nearer.  The  leaders  of  finance,  of  business,  of  labor,  and  of  the 
professions  are  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  effort.  That  is  a 
good  thing  to  do,  and  yet  I  would  caution  you  against  setting 
your  gaze  too  far  ahead.  There  must  be  insistence  on  the  op- 
portunity of  the  present,  on  the  achievement  of  this  month  and 
year — of  Nineteen  Hundred  and  Now,  as  Edward  Everett 
Hale  expressed  it.  Fort  Wayne  cannot  do  at  once  all  the  things 
herein  suggested ;  the  Report  does  look  years  ahead.  But 
there  should  be  realization  that  each  month's  delay  means 
greater  difficulty  in  accomplishment ;  all  that  can  be  done  should 
be  done  quickly.  Speaking  generally,  the  most  urgent  work  is 
the  acquisition  of  needed  lands.  Development,  as  already  in 
the  matter  of  your  parks,  can  follow  more  slowly. 

Financially,  Fort  Wayne  is  exceptionally  well  able  to  act 
quickly  and  with  energy,  in  order  that  she  may  make  real  the 
new  dreams  of  a  better  future.  I  have  been  looking  over  the 
financial  statements  of  a  selected  list  of  cities,  having  popu- 
lations of  between  50,000  and  65,000.  Included  in  the  list — the 
figures  being  those  of  1906 — are  such  typical  and  far  scattered 


122  Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvement  Association 

municipalities  as  Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  San  Antonio,  Texas ; 
Evansville,  Ind. ;  Waterbury,  Conn. ;  Salt  Lake  City ;  Harris- 
burg,  Pa. ;  Tacoma,  Wash.,  and  Holyoke,  Mass.  In  this 
prepared  list  of  prosperous  and  progressive  municipali- 
ties, there  are  named  only  two  cities  that  have  funded  debts 
of  less  than  two  million  dollars — the  smallest  debt  re- 
ported is  $1,825,000  —  and  there  are  several  in  which 
the  debt  exceeds  four  millions.  Fort  Wayne,  with  a 
larger  population  than  any  of  them,  has  a  funded  debt  of  only 
$589,900,  and  against  that  has  $91,000  in  the  sinking  fund! 
Putting  the  matter  another  way,  and  turning  to  the  Census 
Report  for  1906,  in  which  every  city  is  given,  I  find  that  the 
city  with  population  nearest  at  that  time  to  Fort  Wayne's,  was 
Holyoke,  Mass.,  it  having  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  fewer 
people ;  that  the  per  capita  debt  obligation,  less  sinking  fund 
assets,  amounted  then  in  Fort  Wayne  to  $16.68 — it  is  less  than 
half  of  that  now — and  in  Holyoke  to  $51.30 ;  that  of  the  eighty- 
seven  cities  of  the  United  States  with  a  larger  population  than 
Fort  Wayne,  only  four  had  as  small  a  per  capita  debt  as  her's, 
and  that  of  the  first  twenty  with  a  smaller  population  only 
two  did  not  have  a  larger  per  capita  debt.  As  compared  with 
rivals,  Fort  Wayne  is  thus  in  a  position  to  do  a  great  deal. 
The  per  capita  debt  of  Kansas  City,  Kas.,  at  that  time  was 
$39.32,  "which,"  says  a  statement  issued  by  the  business  men's 
club  of  that  city,  is  "less  than  most  cities  of  the  same  class." 
The  total  debt  was  then  over  one  and  a  half  millions,  and  is 
now  about  $2,175,000,  as  compared  with  the  half  million  in 
Fort  Wayne ;  but  the  bulletin  of  that  energetic  organization 
prints  with  approval,  after  the  debt  statement,  these  words; 
"Every  time  we  improve  our  city  we  help  to  increase  its  popu- 
lation. I  believe  that  as  a  business  proposition  a  judicious  out- 
lay of  three  or  four  million  dollars  for  improvements  in  this 
city  would  be  a  splendid  investment."  That  is  the  spirit  that 
brings  things  to  pass.  Kansas  City,  Kas.,  is  a  type  of  a  large 
class  of  cities  that  are  in  competition  with  you,  and  that,  with- 
out half  so  favorable  an  opportunity  financially  as  has  Fort 
Wayne,  are  daring  and  doing  more. 


Fort  Wayne  Civic  Improvcmoif  Association  123 

I  have  spoken  of  the  money  aspect  of  the  question  of  im- 
proving Fort  Wayne,  because  it  was  sure  to  be  broui^ht  up. 
But  the  more  important  consideration  is  not  financial  at  all. 
It  is  the  question  whether  the  people  who  live  in  Fort  Wayne 
have  the  wish,  the  grit,  the  love  for  their  city  and  faith  in  it, 
to  make  of  it  what  it  can  be  made  so  easily — the  workshop,  con- 
venient and  wholesome,  facilitating  and  drawing  business ;  the 
home,  affording  opportunities  for  healthful  exercise  and  pleas- 
ure, and  bringing  beauty  into  the  common  life — whether,  in 
short,  the  community  really  means  what  it  says,  and  puts  heart 
in  its  slogan. 

Fort  Wayne  With  Might  and  Main. 

In  the  recently  submitted  Report  of  the  Metropolitan  Im- 
provements Commission  for  Boston,  there  is  this  true  state- 
ment: "The  mental  attitude  of  the  citizens  of  any  community 
towards  its  growth  and  future  prosperity  is  an  element  of  no 
mean  importance  in  the  shaping  of  its  destiny.  Confidence 
and  civic  courage  have  frequently  ha^l  the  power  to  achieve 
that  which  doubt  and  hesitation  would  have  rendered  an  im- 
possibility." Respectfully  submitted, 

CHARLES  MULFORD  ROBINSON. 
Sept.  28,  1909. 


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